Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $37.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $33.00. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on HRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $32.26 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $40.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 6.37%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.