Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on HRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on Hormel Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.29.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $24.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average of $25.36. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $32.07.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 9.41%. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,129 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.6% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 87,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.6% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 4,409 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.