Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Trading Down 5.3% on Disappointing Earnings

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL – Get Rating)’s share price fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $40.72 and last traded at $41.52. 577,530 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 1,569,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.83.

The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Argus increased their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Patrick J. Connor sold 1,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $73,929.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,063,332.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Patrick J. Connor sold 1,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $73,929.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,063,332.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James P. Snee sold 31,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $1,490,947.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,200,052.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1,673.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 872 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. 39.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 4.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.27 and a 200 day moving average of $46.55. The stock has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

About Hormel Foods

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Hormel Foods Corp. engages in the production of meat and food products. It operates through the following segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International and Other. The Grocery Products segment focuses on the processing, marketing, and sale of shelf-stable food products sold in the retail market.