Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $23.27, but opened at $25.10. Hormel Foods shares last traded at $23.9230, with a volume of 2,989,335 shares traded.

The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 3.95%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.51 EPS.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price objective on Hormel Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 162.7% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 514.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.9%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.33.

About Hormel Foods

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.