Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.340-0.340 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.320. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.0 billion-$3.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.1 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays set a $30.00 target price on Hormel Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research raised Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.43.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $23.45 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods has a 52-week low of $21.03 and a 52-week high of $32.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th were paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 134.48%.

Institutional Trading of Hormel Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,340,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.1% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 32,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 13,072 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 363.1% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 324,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after acquiring an additional 254,172 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,345,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,880,000 after acquiring an additional 123,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hormel Foods

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.