Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas began 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.92 and a 200 day moving average of $31.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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 return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 802,816 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,041,000 after acquiring an additional 533,657 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.