Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $28.27 and last traded at $28.43, with a volume of 299706 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after buying an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the 3rd 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 boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after buying an additional 26,390 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in 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 buying an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $1,025,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.