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

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three 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 $31.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on HRL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $35.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.46. Hormel Foods has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $41.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 396.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.