Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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 has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.46.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released 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). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after acquiring an additional 26,390 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.