Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $31.82, but opened at $31.02. Hormel Foods shares last traded at $31.70, with a volume of 771,216 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,934,000 after buying an additional 802,816 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 86.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,867,000 after purchasing an additional 742,859 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,470,000 after buying an additional 462,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

About Hormel Foods

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.