HORMEL FOODS STOCK FALLS NEARLY 3% FOLLOWING JP MORGAN'S 'NEUTRAL' RATING CHANGE
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Apr 09 2026
0mins
Should l Buy HRL?
Source: moomoo
- Stock Performance: Hormel Foods shares fell approximately 3% following a downgrade by JP Morgan.
- Downgrade Reason: The downgrade categorized Hormel Foods as 'neutral', indicating a lack of strong buy or sell recommendations.
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Analyst Views on HRL
Wall Street analysts forecast HRL stock price to rise
5 Analyst Rating
3 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 20.660
Low
26.00
Averages
27.40
High
30.00
Current: 20.660
Low
26.00
Averages
27.40
High
30.00
About HRL
Hormel Foods Corporation is a global-branded food company. The Company develops, processes, and distributes a range of food products in a variety of markets. Its segments include Retail, Foodservice, and International. The Retail segment is primarily engaged in the processing, marketing, and sale of food products sold predominantly in the retail market. This segment also includes the Company’s MegaMex Foods, LLC joint venture. The Foodservice segment consists primarily of the processing, marketing, and sale of food products to foodservice, convenience store, and commercial customers located in the United States. The International segment processes, markets, and sells its products internationally. This segment also includes the results from the Company’s international joint ventures, international equity method investments, and international royalty arrangements. It has a global presence within several major international markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, and England.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Investment Opportunities in Consumer Staples Stocks
- Dividend Durability: Despite short-term earnings pressure, General Mills (GIS) maintains a 127-year uninterrupted dividend payment history, currently yielding 6.7%, making it highly attractive for long-term income investors within the S&P 500.
- Brand Resilience: Hormel Foods (HRL) has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years, and despite a 50% drop in share price since April 2022, its brands like Spam and Skippy remain market leaders, showcasing strong brand resilience and adaptability.
- Market Potential: Kenvue (KVUE), spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, has seen its stock price drop about 30%, yet its product portfolio including Tylenol and Listerine shows a 3.2% revenue growth quarter-over-quarter, indicating defensibility and growth potential in consumer health.
- E-commerce Penetration: Church & Dwight (CHD) has achieved a 23% e-commerce channel share in global sales, with brands like Arm & Hammer contributing 70% of revenue, and is guiding for 3% to 4% organic sales growth in 2026, highlighting strong market prospects and investment value.
See More
Investment Opportunities in Consumer Stocks
- Market Confidence Decline: The consumer confidence index has dropped to 56.4, nearing recession levels, prompting a shift towards defensive businesses, and despite flat performance in consumer staples in 2025, there are opportunities to buy at low prices.
- General Mills' Investment Value: General Mills (GIS) is trading at a 15-year low with a year-to-date decline of about 21%, yet its 127-year uninterrupted dividend history and a 6.7% yield make it a reliable choice for long-term passive income.
- Hormel Foods' Resilience: Hormel Foods (HRL) has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years, and despite a 50% drop from its 2022 peak, its brand leadership and dual position in private-label manufacturing provide a defensive edge.
- Kenvue's Market Potential: Kenvue (KVUE), spun off from Johnson & Johnson, is down 30% from its 52-week high, but its stable product portfolio and analyst support make it an investment worth considering.
See More
Market Dynamics and Investment Opportunities Analysis
- Oil Price Surge Impact: U.S. benchmark WTI crude prices have risen by 5% to over $99 a barrel, raising expectations for the resumption of oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which could significantly impact global supply chains and related stock performances.
- Stock Market Recovery: The S&P 500 has rebounded 6.9% from its war-driven low on March 30, now just 2.8% below its record close on January 27, indicating growing market confidence in economic recovery, particularly as labor market and inflation data stabilize.
- Meta and CoreWeave Partnership: Meta Platforms has announced a $21 billion long-term agreement with CoreWeave to enhance AI computing capacity, highlighting the ongoing demand for growth in the AI sector as Meta seeks computing resources to support its Reels and new AI models.
- Capital One Rating Upgrade: JPMorgan has upgraded Capital One from hold to buy, viewing the credit card issuer as a strong pick in consumer finance despite market volatility, with expectations that synergies from the Discover acquisition will drive future performance improvements.
See More
HORMEL FOODS STOCK FALLS NEARLY 3% FOLLOWING JP MORGAN'S 'NEUTRAL' RATING CHANGE
- Stock Performance: Hormel Foods shares fell approximately 3% following a downgrade by JP Morgan.
- Downgrade Reason: The downgrade categorized Hormel Foods as 'neutral', indicating a lack of strong buy or sell recommendations.
See More
Market Dynamics and Rating Updates
- Tesla Rating Maintained: JPMorgan retains a sell rating on Tesla after the company's first-quarter deliveries fell short of expectations, with a price target of $145 implying a 60% downside, indicating market concerns over EV demand.
- Plastics Makers Downgraded: Bank of America downgraded Dow Inc and LyondellBasell from hold to sell, citing unsustainable gains from Middle East supply disruptions, predicting that petrochemical prices will peak and earnings will normalize.
- Netflix Upgrade: Goldman Sachs upgraded Netflix from hold to buy, as analysts believe the end of the Warner Bros deal will enable Netflix to achieve sustained low double-digit revenue growth in the coming years, with increased buyback activity expected.
- AMD Price Target Cut: Citi lowered AMD's price target from $260 to $248 while maintaining a hold rating, reflecting caution over a flat 2026 despite strong CPU demand from agentic AI, amid new competition in the data center CPU market.
See More
Turnaround Opportunities for UPS and Hormel Foods
- UPS Transformation Progress: In 2025, UPS closed 93 buildings and deployed automation at 57 locations, successfully saving $3.5 billion, with 2026 expected to be an inflection point as the second half is projected to outperform the first, indicating positive results from its turnaround efforts.
- Revenue Growth Potential: Despite a year-over-year decline in revenue and earnings in 2025, UPS saw a 7.1% increase in revenue per piece in the U.S. market, suggesting that its turnaround initiatives are yielding expected outcomes, likely attracting more investor interest in the future.
- Hormel's Strong Sales: Hormel achieved organic sales growth for five consecutive quarters in 2025, with adjusted earnings expected to rise between 4% and 10% in 2026, demonstrating the company's successful transformation towards value-added products.
- High Dividend Appeal: Hormel offers a dividend yield of 5%, significantly higher than the 1.1% from the S&P 500 index, and with over 50 years of annual dividend increases, it stands out as a strong option for income investors.
See More
Investment Opportunities in Consumer Staples Stocks
- Dividend Durability: Despite short-term earnings pressure, General Mills (GIS) maintains a 127-year uninterrupted dividend payment history, currently yielding 6.7%, making it highly attractive for long-term income investors within the S&P 500.
- Brand Resilience: Hormel Foods (HRL) has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years, and despite a 50% drop in share price since April 2022, its brands like Spam and Skippy remain market leaders, showcasing strong brand resilience and adaptability.
- Market Potential: Kenvue (KVUE), spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, has seen its stock price drop about 30%, yet its product portfolio including Tylenol and Listerine shows a 3.2% revenue growth quarter-over-quarter, indicating defensibility and growth potential in consumer health.
- E-commerce Penetration: Church & Dwight (CHD) has achieved a 23% e-commerce channel share in global sales, with brands like Arm & Hammer contributing 70% of revenue, and is guiding for 3% to 4% organic sales growth in 2026, highlighting strong market prospects and investment value.
See More
Investment Opportunities in Consumer Stocks
- Market Confidence Decline: The consumer confidence index has dropped to 56.4, nearing recession levels, prompting a shift towards defensive businesses, and despite flat performance in consumer staples in 2025, there are opportunities to buy at low prices.
- General Mills' Investment Value: General Mills (GIS) is trading at a 15-year low with a year-to-date decline of about 21%, yet its 127-year uninterrupted dividend history and a 6.7% yield make it a reliable choice for long-term passive income.
- Hormel Foods' Resilience: Hormel Foods (HRL) has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years, and despite a 50% drop from its 2022 peak, its brand leadership and dual position in private-label manufacturing provide a defensive edge.
- Kenvue's Market Potential: Kenvue (KVUE), spun off from Johnson & Johnson, is down 30% from its 52-week high, but its stable product portfolio and analyst support make it an investment worth considering.
See More
Market Dynamics and Investment Opportunities Analysis
- Oil Price Surge Impact: U.S. benchmark WTI crude prices have risen by 5% to over $99 a barrel, raising expectations for the resumption of oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which could significantly impact global supply chains and related stock performances.
- Stock Market Recovery: The S&P 500 has rebounded 6.9% from its war-driven low on March 30, now just 2.8% below its record close on January 27, indicating growing market confidence in economic recovery, particularly as labor market and inflation data stabilize.
- Meta and CoreWeave Partnership: Meta Platforms has announced a $21 billion long-term agreement with CoreWeave to enhance AI computing capacity, highlighting the ongoing demand for growth in the AI sector as Meta seeks computing resources to support its Reels and new AI models.
- Capital One Rating Upgrade: JPMorgan has upgraded Capital One from hold to buy, viewing the credit card issuer as a strong pick in consumer finance despite market volatility, with expectations that synergies from the Discover acquisition will drive future performance improvements.
See More
HORMEL FOODS STOCK FALLS NEARLY 3% FOLLOWING JP MORGAN'S 'NEUTRAL' RATING CHANGE
- Stock Performance: Hormel Foods shares fell approximately 3% following a downgrade by JP Morgan.
- Downgrade Reason: The downgrade categorized Hormel Foods as 'neutral', indicating a lack of strong buy or sell recommendations.
See More
Market Dynamics and Rating Updates
- Tesla Rating Maintained: JPMorgan retains a sell rating on Tesla after the company's first-quarter deliveries fell short of expectations, with a price target of $145 implying a 60% downside, indicating market concerns over EV demand.
- Plastics Makers Downgraded: Bank of America downgraded Dow Inc and LyondellBasell from hold to sell, citing unsustainable gains from Middle East supply disruptions, predicting that petrochemical prices will peak and earnings will normalize.
- Netflix Upgrade: Goldman Sachs upgraded Netflix from hold to buy, as analysts believe the end of the Warner Bros deal will enable Netflix to achieve sustained low double-digit revenue growth in the coming years, with increased buyback activity expected.
- AMD Price Target Cut: Citi lowered AMD's price target from $260 to $248 while maintaining a hold rating, reflecting caution over a flat 2026 despite strong CPU demand from agentic AI, amid new competition in the data center CPU market.
See More
Turnaround Opportunities for UPS and Hormel Foods
- UPS Transformation Progress: In 2025, UPS closed 93 buildings and deployed automation at 57 locations, successfully saving $3.5 billion, with 2026 expected to be an inflection point as the second half is projected to outperform the first, indicating positive results from its turnaround efforts.
- Revenue Growth Potential: Despite a year-over-year decline in revenue and earnings in 2025, UPS saw a 7.1% increase in revenue per piece in the U.S. market, suggesting that its turnaround initiatives are yielding expected outcomes, likely attracting more investor interest in the future.
- Hormel's Strong Sales: Hormel achieved organic sales growth for five consecutive quarters in 2025, with adjusted earnings expected to rise between 4% and 10% in 2026, demonstrating the company's successful transformation towards value-added products.
- High Dividend Appeal: Hormel offers a dividend yield of 5%, significantly higher than the 1.1% from the S&P 500 index, and with over 50 years of annual dividend increases, it stands out as a strong option for income investors.
See More
