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

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.29.

HRL has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.66. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.58%.

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.