Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Short Interest Update

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,110,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the October 15th total of 7,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HRL stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $29.58. 690,087 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,586,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

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.