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

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other 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.