Short Interest in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Increases By 6.8%

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,790,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the December 15th total of 11,040,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.