Hormel Shares Pop After Results, Traders Look to Next Step

New York, May 31, 2026, 17:02 (EDT)

NEW YORK — Hormel Foods is up nearly 9.4% for the holiday week, as shares bounced hard during earnings. The stock pulled back 1.53% to $23.23 on Friday but had surged 12.55% Thursday after results. Friday volume hit 38.92 million shares, much heavier than usual.

Timing is a factor. With U.S. markets shut for Memorial Day on Monday and no trading on Sunday, traders have to look at Hormel’s results before the new week opens. The NYSE 2026 calendar shows Memorial Day as a market holiday for May 25.

Hormel caught a break as the rally lifted shares, but the stock is still trading way under its 52-week high of $31.86. Shares are up from a recent $19.70 low. Last week’s move hasn’t undone the longer decline.

Hormel Foods (HRL) topped estimates for its fiscal Q2, with more chicken and turkey sales driving results. Net sales reached $2.97 billion, ahead of the $2.95 billion average forecast from LSEG. Adjusted EPS was 40 cents, compared with expectations for 36 cents.

Hormel is sticking with its full-year sales forecast of $12.2 billion to $12.5 billion and sees adjusted diluted EPS at $1.43 to $1.51. Interim CEO Jeff Ettinger called the quarter evidence of “profitable growth and improved performance.” President John Ghingo cited gains in the company’s “protein-centric portfolio.” Hormel Foods Investor Relations

Market relief showed up in the stock. Stephens analyst Pooran Sharma bumped up the price target to $25 from $22, but left an Equal Weight call. That means Sharma doesn’t see the shares strongly outpacing rivals. “I would have been more inclined to be more constructive” if the company had lifted its guidance or given a clearer second-half view, Sharma wrote, per The Fly. TipRanks

Bank of America boosted its price target to $25 from $23 but kept a Neutral rating. The firm called the stock’s move after the results “largely relief-driven,” citing no guidance cut and some stronger confidence in execution. TipRanks

Peer stocks gave less help on Friday. Tyson Foods dropped 1.58%. Kraft Heinz, also in packaged food, lost 1.88%. Hormel fell too, despite the S&P 500 up 0.22% and the Dow up 0.72%.

Hormel’s earnings are out, but attention turns to how investors will read the beat: just a blip, or the early stage of a bigger turnaround. The focus is on retail volumes, how turkey trends play out, and if pricing and lower costs can keep margins up without pushing shoppers away.

Risks are still there. Volume in the retail segment dropped 2%. The move out of noncore snack nuts dragged on that unit, and selling the whole-bird turkey business will likely cut about $50 million from fiscal 2026 sales. A pickup in logistics costs or weaker consumer spending could pull shares lower after last week’s rally.

Hormel has bought some breathing room for now. Investors saw an earnings beat, guidance held steady and two analysts raised their price targets, though the upgrade cycle didn’t get a reset. The next step could hinge less on this quarter and more on if management can keep up the progress later in the year.

Related articles: NYSE:HRL

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