Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.2857.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HRL. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Barclays set a $30.00 price objective on Hormel Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research raised Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Hormel Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the first 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 during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.8% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 104,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 72.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,296 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $24.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.71. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $21.03 and a 52-week high of $32.07. The firm has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 134.48%.

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.