Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $31.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.20% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $35.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.27.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,598,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 9,725.4% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,335,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,270,000 after buying an additional 2,312,024 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 496.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,562,000 after buying an additional 1,819,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 466.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,408,000 after buying an additional 1,690,746 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 485.7% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,963,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,755,000 after buying an additional 1,628,382 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.