Hormel Foods Corporation

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL - Snapshot Report), the food and meat products manufacturer, has surprised on estimates 5 out of the last 6 quarters. The 118-year old company recently announced its 323rd dividend payout. HRL is trading at 12.12x forward earnings.

Company Description

Hormel Foods manufactures various food and meat products. The company, founded in 1891 in Minnesota, owns well-known consumer brands such as Jennie-O, SPAM, Hormel, and Dinty Moore.

Second-Quarter Results Scheduled for May 21

Hormel is scheduled to report second-quarter 2009 earnings on May 21. Second quarter consensus estimates are holding steady at 50 cents per share over the last 60 days.

Full-year estimates are up 3 cents in the last 90 days to $2.24 per share.

The full-year estimate is at the high end of the company's guidance range of $2.15 to $2.25, which the company confirmed in mid-February.

History of Earnings Surprises

Hormel has a history of earnings surprises, having beaten on estimates 5 out of the last 6 quarters.

In February, the company surprised by 17.65% in the first quarter of 2009 and has averaged a 7.88% surprise in the last 4 quarters.

Dividend Payout Continues

On Mar 24, the company announced a regular quarterly dividend of 19 cents per share payable on May 15 to shareholders of record as of Apr 18.

It continues an impressive record of 323 quarterly dividends. Hormel has paid a dividend every year since the company was founded in 1928.

The company's current dividend yield is 2.50%.

Value Fundamentals

Hormel Foods is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has a forward P/E of 12.12. The company's price-to-book is 1.97. HRL has an outstanding 5-year return on equity (ROE) of 16.18%.