Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $27.68 and last traded at $27.98, with a volume of 1047880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.73.

The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,257,000 after buying an additional 268,328 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,459,000 after acquiring an additional 98,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,072,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,500,000 after acquiring an additional 413,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

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.