Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 6.26%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.37. 4,187,996 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,703,239. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.33. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.78.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 514.6% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 214.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.