Short Interest in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Increases By 31.2%

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,330,000 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the October 31st total of 7,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $32.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average of $31.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 81.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

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.