Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.29.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $24.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $32.07.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 3.95%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.51 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 134.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,595,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,121,000 after purchasing an additional 729,942 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,886,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,589,000 after buying an additional 166,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 11.2% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,769,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,735,000 after buying an additional 581,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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.