Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,350,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the September 15th total of 7,940,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 73,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 154,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,959,000 after acquiring an additional 11,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 31,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.56. 1,934,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,427. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.71%.

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.