Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Key Points

• Hormel Foods reported earnings of $0.35 per share for the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $0.41 by $0.06, with a net margin of 6.27%.
• The company updated its guidance for Q4 2025 to $0.380-$0.400 EPS and for FY 2025 to $1.430-$1.450 EPS.
• Research firms have shown increasing confidence in Hormel, with several upgrades including JPMorgan Chase raising the target price from $29.00 to $34.00.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 6.26%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hormel Foods updated its Q4 2025 guidance to 0.380-0.400 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance to 1.430-1.450 EPS.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,509,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,259,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $23.71 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The stock has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.31. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.62.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 214.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth $310,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $312,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $341,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. BNP Paribas raised Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hormel Foods from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.88.

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.