Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Short Interest Up 31.2% in November

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,330,000 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the October 31st total of 7,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of HRL traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,904,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,588,060. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.61. Hormel Foods has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after buying an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $1,025,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 735,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,418,000 after acquiring an additional 152,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

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.