Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.7143.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HRL. Zacks Research raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays set a $30.00 price objective on Hormel Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,595,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,121,000 after acquiring an additional 729,942 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 63,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,714,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,595 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.2%

HRL stock opened at $23.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.32. Hormel Foods has a fifty-two week low of $21.03 and a fifty-two week high of $32.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.03 and a 200-day moving average of $23.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.510 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.46%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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.