Brokerages Set Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Price Target at $31.57

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.57.

Several analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens started coverage on 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.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.8 %

HRL stock opened at $30.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.25. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.30. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

About Hormel Foods

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.