Hormel Foods Corp (HRL) took a hit earlier this year when meat prices skyrocketed after a fatal swine virus killed millions of piglets. Hormel Foods reported its fourth quarter earnings yesterday.
Was Hormel Foods able to rebound? Is now a good time to invest in HRL stock?
Hormel Foods – Company Overview
Hormel Foods was founded in 1891 by George Hormel and is based in Austin, Minnesota. Today, Hormel Foods is a multinational manufacturer of food and meat products. Hormel Foods sells food under a many distinguishable brands like Spam, Jennie-O and Skippy.
Hormel Foods has approximately 20,200 full-time employees. Hormel Foods brings in over $8 billion in net sales each year. Hormel Foods also pays a dividend yield of 1.54%.
Hormel Foods – Earnings Rundown
Hormel Food fell short of consensus estimates in the fourth quarter. Hormel Foods reported earnings of $171 million or 63 cents per share. Consensus estimate was $2.52 billion or 64 cents per share. Revenue rose 9% to $2.5 billion, while sales increased by 3%.
Fiscal year diluted earnings-per-share was up 14% to $2.23. Net earnings for the year were up 15% to $602.7 million. Consensus estimates for EPS for full year 2015 is $2.59.
Hormel Foods – Current Ratings
For the past 12 months, Hormel Foods has fluctuated between a “buy” and a “hold” rating. Currently, Hormel Foods is performing exceptionally well, earning an “A” for its Quantitative Grade.
On the fundamentals side, Hormel Foods falters a bit, earning “Cs” in sales growth, earnings momentum and earnings surprises. All other metrics (operating margin growth, earnings growth, analyst earnings revisions, cash flow and return on equity) earn solid “Bs.” Hormel Foods earns an overall “B” for its Fundamental Grade.
As of this posting, Nov. 26, I consider Hormel Foods a “B-rated buy.”
Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip Growth, Emerging Growth, Ultimate Growth, Family Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.
