The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL)

Investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 15.68% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HRL. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,571,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,669,985. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.33. Hormel Foods has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $33.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exeter Financial LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 16,809 shares of the company's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the first quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 12,708 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.7% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,718 shares of the company's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, G&S Capital LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 15,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

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.