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

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.29.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens initiated 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.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.48.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRL. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 14,820 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 349.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $222,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.