Analysts Set Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Target Price at $28.29

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.4286.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $30.00 target price on Hormel Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on Hormel Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 130.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 91,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after acquiring an additional 51,827 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $820,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 48.3% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 40,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,188 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 296,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,978,000 after purchasing an additional 119,460 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $19,824,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE HRL opened at $23.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $32.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.63. The company has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 134.48%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.