Aberdeen Group plc Cuts Stake in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Hormel Foods by 29.2%, selling 114,165 shares and now owning approximately 0.05% of the company, worth $8.55 million.
• Multiple institutions, such as Exeter Financial LLC and Simmons Bank, have increased their holdings in Hormel Foods, reflecting a general trend of institutional investment in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Hormel Foods, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.86.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,376 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,165 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.05% of Hormel Foods worth $8,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,072,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,500,000 after buying an additional 413,669 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,488,678 shares of the company's stock worth $140,810,000 after acquiring an additional 261,742 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,157,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,594,000 after purchasing an additional 405,719 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,966,225 shares of the company's stock worth $93,050,000 after purchasing an additional 306,567 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded down $0.3750 on Monday, hitting $28.8750. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,896,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,303,971. The company has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.31. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.68.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 6.27%.Hormel Foods's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.580-1.680 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods 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.