Katherine Losness-Larson, a SVP at Hormel Foods Corp (HRL), recently bought 830 shares. The buy increased her stake by 4%, and came to a total cost of $25,000.
This is the first insider buy since September, when another SVP bought 1,454 shares, paying just over $54,000 for the stake. Otherwise, insiders have been slight sellers of shares overall, with a mix of option exercises and traditional sales. And both executives and directors have been sellers.
Overall, Hormel insiders own 0.2% of shares.
The packaged food producer has declined about 25% in the past year. That’s a worse return than the company’s operations, which saw a 3% dip in revenues and a 13% decline in earnings.
Consumers have become more wary about food spending in light of recent inflation. Packaged food products are seeing a decline in demand as prices have jumped higher in recent years.
However, at current prices, Hormel now trades at 18 times earnings. And the worst of the inflation shift may be over.
Action to take: Investors may like shares here as a rebound trade in the months ahead. At current prices, Hormel also pays a 3.7% dividend.
For traders, the September $33 calls, last trading for about $0.40, could see high double-digit returns or better on a rally in shares over the coming months.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.