Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 45,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $5,554,000. Masters Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $19,252,000. Fidelity National Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $15,642,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 465,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after buying an additional 81,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at about $8,338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $21.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.70 and a 12-month high of $26.60.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.450-1.510 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods 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.