JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Hormel Foods’ price target from $25 to $26 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying approximately 6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Hormel has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $26.57, with two Buy ratings and seven Holds.
• Hormel’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.40 versus $0.35 forecast and revenue of $2.97 billion; revenue increased 2.6% year over year.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.97% from the company's previous close.

HRL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.57.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $24.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 670,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,775,222. Hormel Foods has a 12 month low of $19.70 and a 12 month high of $29.34. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company's stock worth $701,098,000 after acquiring an additional 269,941 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $489,092,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company's stock worth $280,352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company's stock worth $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 63,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,849,174 shares of the company's stock worth $155,152,000 after purchasing an additional 134,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company's portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.

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