Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Short Interest Update

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,350,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the September 15th total of 7,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 660,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,938. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average of $32.54. Hormel Foods has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Viawealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.4% during the first quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 17,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.2% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 41,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.