Hormel Foods isn't just about SPAM anymore. Honestly, if you're looking at the hrl stock price today, you're seeing a company caught between a legendary past and a very modern, very messy squeeze. As of the market close on Friday, January 16, 2026—since today is Sunday and the New York Stock Exchange is taking a breather—HRL sits at $24.22.
It dropped about 2% on Friday.
That might feel like a gut punch if you bought in when it was riding high above $30 last year. But for the dividend hunters? This price point is basically a siren song. The yield is pushing a massive 4.83%.
The Tug-of-War Over $24
Why is it stuck here? It's not one thing. It's everything. You've got high pork and beef costs eating margins. Then there’s the bird flu. Avian influenza has been a recurring nightmare for the Jennie-O turkey brand, messing up supply chains and making life difficult for the management team in Austin, Minnesota.
Last quarter was a mixed bag.
They beat earnings expectations—coming in at $0.32 per share versus the $0.30 analysts wanted. But the revenue? It missed. $3.19 billion wasn't quite the $3.24 billion the street was looking for. This is the "Hormel Waltz" we've seen lately: cutting costs effectively but struggling to get people to buy more chili and nut butter in a world where grocery bills are already terrifying.
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What Most People Get Wrong About HRL
A lot of traders see a stock down 23% since the start of 2025 and think "stay away." They see a payout ratio over 100% and scream "dividend cut!" But Hormel is a Dividend King. They've hiked that payout for 60 consecutive years. They just did it again in late 2025, bumping the quarterly check to $0.2925 per share.
You don't throw away a 60-year streak easily.
The company is currently undergoing what they call the "Transform and Modernize" (T&M) initiative. Basically, they're trying to trim the fat. They cut about 9% of their corporate and sales staff recently—around 250 jobs. It's cold, but it's the kind of move Wall Street loves because it protects the bottom line when sales growth is sluggish.
The 2026 Outlook: Ambitious or Delusional?
John Ghingo, the company's president, is talking a big game for the rest of 2026. Management is forecasting adjusted EPS between $1.43 and $1.51. If they hit the high end of that, the current hrl stock price today looks like a bargain.
But it's a big "if."
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- Commodity Volatility: If pork prices spike again, those projections go out the window.
- The China Factor: Their international segment has been rocky. China showed some growth recently, but Brazil has been a drag.
- Consumer Resistance: They’re planning more price hikes. At some point, people just stop buying the branded stuff and go for the generic store-brand bacon.
Analysts are mostly sitting on the fence. MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" right now. JPMorgan recently bumped their target to $28, while others like Weiss Ratings are still waving a "Sell" flag. It's a polarizing stock.
Technical Signals and the "Ex-Dividend" Dip
If you noticed the price action earlier this week, HRL went ex-dividend on January 12. Usually, the stock price drops by the amount of the dividend on that day because new buyers aren't entitled to the upcoming February 17 payment.
Technically, the stock is trying to find a floor. It recently moved above its 50-day moving average (around $23.39), which usually signals a trend reversal. But then it hit "overbought" territory on the RSI (Relative Strength Index), and Friday's 2% slide was likely just some profit-taking and a natural cooling off.
Actionable Insights for Your Portfolio
If you're holding HRL, selling now might be locking in a loss just as the T&M cost-savings start to hit the ledger. For new money, the risk-to-reward ratio is getting interesting. You're buying a staple of the American pantry at a P/E ratio of about 17 (normalized), which is significantly cheaper than its historical average of 20-22.
Watch the $21.03 level. That's the 52-week low. If it breaks that, the narrative changes from "temporary struggle" to "structural decline."
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Monitor the February 17 payout. This is when the cash actually hits accounts. If the company's guidance for the next quarter remains steady, it suggests the dividend is safe despite the high payout ratio.
Keep an eye on the Planters brand. Hormel spent billions on it, and it needs to start pulling more weight in the snack aisle to offset the slower growth in refrigerated meats.
The hrl stock price today isn't going to make you a millionaire overnight. It's a slow-moving freighter. But in a volatile market, a nearly 5% yield from a company that hasn't missed a raise since the 1960s is a rare find. You just have to decide if you have the stomach for the short-term choppiness while they fix the engine.
Set a price alert for $23.50. If it dips back there, the yield becomes even more attractive for a long-term "set it and forget it" position.