Brokerages Set Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Target Price at $32.33

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.33.

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 2.7 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $39.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.95. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,195,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 47,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 13,815 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 6,227 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 39,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. 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.