Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.67.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 11.6% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $357,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 612,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,292,000 after purchasing an additional 98,289 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 145,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,144 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,059,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,366,000 after purchasing an additional 172,110 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $30.64 on Monday. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $41.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.71. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

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.