Hormel Foods Corp vs United States Natural Gas Fund — how do they compare? Hormel Foods Corp trades at $24.44 (market cap $13.37B), while United States Natural Gas Fund trades at $10.19. The key difference: Hormel Foods Corp pays a 4.81% dividend while United States Natural Gas Fund pays none, and Hormel Foods Corp is trading nearer its 52-week high, United States Natural Gas Fund nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| HRL | UNG | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.37B | — |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Commodities - Energy |
52-Week High | $29.25 | $16.90 |
52-Week Low | $19.74 | $9.63 |
Enterprise Value | $15.37B | — |
Dividend Yield | 4.81% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Hormel Foods (HRL) trades at $24.23, down 1.92% over 24 hours, amid a bearish technical signal. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q1 2026 EPS of $0.40 surpassing the $0.3544 estimate. Revenue for 2025 was $12.11B, though net income margin compressed to 3.82%. Recent corporate developments include the appointment of John Ghingo as CEO and the sale of its CERATTI business in Brazil.
HRL presents a mixed outlook with a defensive profile as a consumer staple, supported by a 4.6% dividend yield. However, margin pressures and a bearish technical trend pose near-term risks. The consensus price target of $26.33 implies modest upside, but investor sentiment remains cautious given high hold ratings.
UNG, the United States Natural Gas Fund, trades at $10.23, up 0.89% on the day, with technical indicators showing a bearish bias from moving averages but neutral oscillators. The fund tracks natural gas futures, with recent news highlighting steady prices amid weather-driven demand shifts and geopolitical tensions affecting commodity markets. Key support and resistance cluster around $10, indicating a critical price zone.
The outlook for UNG hinges on natural gas supply-demand dynamics, with EIA forecasting record highs in 2026, but risks include volatility from weather patterns and Middle East conflicts. Investment appeal lies in exposure to energy themes, though the fund's structure as a futures tracker may lead to divergence from spot prices, as noted in comparative analyses with equity-based ETFs like FCG.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Hormel Foods is a protein-focused branded food company. Its brands include its namesake Hormel, Spam, Jennie-O, Dinty Moore, Applegate, Wholly Guacamole, and Skippy. The vast majority of the company's revenue is U.S.-based: 64% U.S. retail, 28% U.S. food service, and 8% international. By product type, in fiscal 2021, 23% of revenue was shelf-stable foods, 18% was poultry (branded and commodity), 55% was other perishable food, and 3% was other, primarily nutritional products. The company holds the number-one market position in shelf-stable meat, shelf-stable ready meals, pepperoni, natural/organic deli meat, and guacamole and the number-two position in turkey, bacon, chilled ready meals, and peanut butter.
Read more on HRL →UNG is a commodity ETF that tracks the daily price movements of natural gas futures. It primarily invests in front-month contracts at the Henry Hub, making it a highly volatile tool for short-term trading rather than long-term holding due to contango and roll costs.
Read more on UNG →