5 Best Plant Based Companies to Invest In

4. Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and food products to retail, food services, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. This March, Argus analyst John Staszak upgraded Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) to Buy from Hold and gave the stock a $57 price target. The analyst commented that although the company faces challenges from rising costs and supply-chain constraints, he expects the company to balance out inflationary pressures through price hikes and to benefit from strong product demand.

On March 1, 2022, Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) released its earnings report for the fiscal first quarter of 2022 in which it beat revenue estimates by $124.40 million. The company reported earnings per share of $0.44 and generated revenues amounting to over $3.04 billion, up 23.70% year over year from $2.46 billion. As of April 7, 2022, Hormel Foods Corporation’s (NYSE:HRL) trailing six-month returns are up to 26.89% and the company is worth $28.83 billion.

At the close of Q4 2021, 32 hedge funds were bullish on Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) having collective stakes of $542.43 million. This is compared to 29 positions in the prior quarter with stakes worth $476.82 million. Citadel Investment Group is the most prominent shareholder in the company having stakes worth $147.99 million.

Here is what LRT Capital Management had to say about Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in its third-quarter 2021 investor letter:

“Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) – the maker of SPAM and Applegate Turkey (among many other products), is down over 20% since peaking last year, largely on fears of higher cost. We expect the company will be able to raise prices to offset cost inflation as they have always been able to do win their past.”