Hormel Foods’ (HRL) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $31.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.46 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.28. Hormel Foods has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $35.33. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.