Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $23.00 price target on the stock. Hormel Foods traded as low as $20.62 and last traded at $20.9490, with a volume of 777581 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.64.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,035,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,574,000 after buying an additional 376,274 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $350,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.510 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.46%.

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.