Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Hits New 52-Week Low After Earnings Miss

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday following a weaker than expected 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 $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 3.1 %

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’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26.

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.