Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,220,000 shares, a decrease of 13.6% from the October 31st total of 12,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,968,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,663,847. The company has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.54. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $30.12 and a 52 week high of $48.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 29th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 12th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 75.34%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $160,836.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,321.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Pierre M. Lilly bought 1,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.25 per share, with a total value of $54,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 5,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $160,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,321.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 238,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,584,000 after purchasing an additional 42,702 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 39,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 20,664 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.63.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Company Profile (Get Free Report)

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International & Other.

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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Short Interest Update