Short Interest in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Declines By 10.6%

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,110,000 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the October 15th total of 7,950,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,589 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 26.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 735,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,418,000 after purchasing an additional 152,800 shares in the last quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,811,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 110.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 19,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 404,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,112,000 after acquiring an additional 17,208 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HRL. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.40. 2,840,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,594,595. The firm has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.17 and its 200 day moving average is $31.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

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.