Hormel Foods Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HRL)

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 5,455 call options on the company. This is an increase of 160% compared to the typical volume of 2,096 call options.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.3 %

HRL opened at $29.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.89. The company has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,257,000 after buying an additional 268,328 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,041,000 after acquiring an additional 533,657 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,459,000 after acquiring an additional 98,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,072,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,500,000 after acquiring an additional 413,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.