Analysts Set Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Price Target at $31.00

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HRL. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 37,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Hormel Foods by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,030,288 shares of the company's stock worth $104,640,000 after acquiring an additional 8,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE HRL traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.77. 2,395,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,230,508. Hormel Foods has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.63.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 77.40%.

Hormel Foods Company 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.