Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Upgraded at Barclays

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $30.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.28 and a 200-day moving average of $31.46. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.