Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.29.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HRL shares. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE HRL opened at $31.44 on Thursday. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.02 and its 200-day moving average is $31.69.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

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.