BNP Paribas Exane Upgrades Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) to “Neutral”

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.80% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1%

HRL stock opened at $29.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.26. Hormel Foods has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $35.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 16,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 37.2% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,123,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,698,000 after buying an additional 52,736 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.