Brokerages Set Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) PT at $31.29

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.29.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL opened at $31.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.02 and a 200-day moving average of $31.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.58%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 40.99% of the stock is 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.