Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Now Covered by Stephens

Stock analysts at Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) in a research note issued on Thursday, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential downside of 1.71% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

HRL opened at $31.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $38.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.78.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Hormel Foods by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the third quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 43.3% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 173,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 52,373 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at about $272,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at about $219,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.