Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 946,668 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,597 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $22,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $26,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 514.6% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.1%

HRL stock opened at $20.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.32 and a 1-year high of $31.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.45. The firm has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.430-1.510 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.46%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.