Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.86 and traded as high as $20.95. Hormel Foods shares last traded at $20.8740, with a volume of 2,725,459 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Stephens set a $23.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.43.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 185.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William A. Newlands acquired 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.10 per share, for a total transaction of $201,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 76,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,137.50. This trade represents a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $489,092,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,849,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,152,000 after acquiring an additional 134,983 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,494,000 after acquiring an additional 79,509 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,285,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,716,000 after acquiring an additional 165,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $44,733,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat-processing business and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meats, meals, snacks and other prepared foods. Hormel Foods markets products under well-known brands such as Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus, Skippy and Planters, although its brand portfolio and business operations may evolve over time.