Short Interest in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Expands By 6.8%

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,790,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the December 15th total of 11,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE HRL opened at $29.93 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.47. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after buying an additional 617,308 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,646,000 after acquiring an additional 120,212 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after purchasing an additional 162,577 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after purchasing an additional 412,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after purchasing an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HRL. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

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.