Traders Purchase Large Volume of Hormel Foods Call Options (NYSE:HRL)

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 5,455 call options on the company. This is an increase of 160% compared to the typical volume of 2,096 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the period. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after buying an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL opened at $29.94 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.90. The company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.80.

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.