Short Interest in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Increases By 5.8%

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,990,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the October 15th total of 12,280,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hormel Foods from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HRL stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,706,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,304. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.20. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $30.70 and a 52 week high of $49.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 7.20% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 13th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Pierre M. Lilly purchased 1,454 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.25 per share, for a total transaction of $54,161.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Pierre M. Lilly acquired 1,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.25 per share, for a total transaction of $54,161.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $160,836.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,321.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 60.5% during the second quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Exos TFP Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 270.0% during the first quarter. Exos TFP Holdings LLC now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 41.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International & Other.