Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.04, but opened at $29.31. Hormel Foods shares last traded at $29.25, with a volume of 720,730 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas raised Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.97 and its 200 day moving average is $30.26. The firm has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 16,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 37.2% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 5,409 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,123,392 shares of the company's stock worth $65,698,000 after acquiring an additional 52,736 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company's stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company's stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently 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.