In a report released today, Rupesh Parikh from Oppenheimer maintained a Hold rating on Hormel Foods (HRL). The company’s shares opened today at $44.80, close to its 52-week high of $46.26.
Parikh wrote:
“We overall view the Q4 results as mixed. On the positive side, EPS topped expectations driven by improved bottom line profitability in the refrigerated foods segment. On the negative side, volumes were down in every segment as follows: Other (-6%). We believe the HRL management continues to manage profitability better vs. peers, but remain concerned about ongoing top-line challenges. As investors seek defense, HRL shares have benefitted and are now trading at about 17x our FY19 EBITDA forecast, consistent with peakish valuations. We do not view the risk/reward as favorable.”
According to TipRanks.com, Parikh is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 16.5% and a 66.0% success rate. Parikh covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Blue Apron Holdings Inc, United Natural Foods, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Hold analyst consensus rating for Hormel Foods with a $42 average price target.
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Based on Hormel Foods’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending July 31, the company reported a quarterly net profit of $210 million. In comparison, last year the company had a net profit of $218 million.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 64 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. Most recently, in September 2018, Deanna Brady, the Group VP of HRL sold 48,000 shares for a total of $1,969,920.
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Hormel Foods Corp. engages in the production of meat and food products. It operates business through the following segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Specialty Foods, and International & Other.
