Brokerages Set Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Target Price at $31.00

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HRL. Citigroup initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $33.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.47. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Exeter Financial LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 99.3% during the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 12,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 100.7% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 85,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 42,972 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth $305,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.