Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Receives $32.33 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.33.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 231.5% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 7,181 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 130,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,075,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the first quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 428.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 149,927 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.3 %

HRL opened at $30.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.58 and a 200-day moving average of $30.52. Hormel Foods has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

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.