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

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

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $29.40. 2,840,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,594,595. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods has a one year low of $28.51 and a one 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.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. 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 posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 127,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 17,199 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.7% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 344,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,023,000 after purchasing an additional 15,522 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 84.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 62,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 28,594 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.