Hormel Foods’ (HRL) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by investment analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.91% from the company’s previous close.

HRL has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of HRL opened at $28.47 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.24. Hormel Foods has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.