Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $28.03 and last traded at $28.27, with a volume of 4050029 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.12.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,944,000 after buying an additional 34,589 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company's stock worth $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.