Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $31.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $28.82 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $28.03 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th were given a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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.