HRL vs POST vs CAG Stock Comparison

Hormel Foods, Post Holdings and Conagra Brands Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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HRL Hormel Foods Corp /De/
$20.88 +6.0% 1M -12.0% 1Y
Market cap
$11.49B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.15B
Div. yield
5.57%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
4 wins
POST Post Holdings, Inc.
$79.37 +8.5% 1M -26.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.49B
P/E
12.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.41B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
6 wins
CAG Conagra Brands Inc.
$14.23 -0.6% 1M -23.1% 1Y
Market cap
$6.79B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.24B
Div. yield
8.57%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Post Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Post Holdings 6, Hormel Foods 4, Conagra Brands 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHRLPOSTCAGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.49B $3.49B $6.79B HRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.6x 12.2x -3.6x POST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 10.7x 9.5x CAG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.7% +6.2% -1.8% POST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% 3.5% -17.0% POST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.5% 5.6% -12.3% POST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 5.3x 3.9x HRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 5.57% — 8.57% CAG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.0% -26.8% -23.1% HRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.4%/yr +3.5%/yr -15.4%/yr POST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.0% 32.0% 32.0% HRL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 71/100 49/100 POST

Percentile Scorecard

HRLPOSTCAG

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHRLPOSTCAG
Valuation 67 #15 of 44 79 #10 of 44 81 #9 of 44
Growth 26 #30 of 40 77 #10 of 40 5 #38 of 40
Profitability 46 #21 of 38 68 #13 of 38 38 #24 of 38
Financial Health 73 #13 of 46 33 #31 of 46 40 #28 of 46
Shareholder Returns 31 #21 of 30 100 #1 of 30 83 #6 of 30
Overall 49 71 49
  • HRL ranked among 47 companies in Branded Foods
  • POST ranked among 47 companies in Branded Foods
  • CAG ranked among 47 companies in Branded Foods

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHRLPOSTCAGSPY
1 month +6.0%+8.5%-0.6% -0.2%
3 months -18.3%-15.9%-7.8% +3.9%
6 months -2.0%-23.0%-0.3% +8.2%
Year to date -11.9%-19.9%-17.8% +12.9%
1 year -12.0%-26.8%-23.1% +12.3%
3 years -33.5%-1.6%-47.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year -12.7%-0.5%-19.4% +23.3%
5 years -51.3%+18.9%-56.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -13.4%+3.5%-15.4% +10.9%
10 years -44.9%+59.5%-61.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year -5.8%+4.8%-9.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHRLPOSTCAGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.0%32.0%32.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.7%33.2%31.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.18-0.12-0.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.40-0.84-0.72 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.0%-39.9%-69.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.2%-30.7%-28.9% -1.2%
52-week high $26.51$114.61$20.02 $779.14
52-week low $19.20$72.50$12.58 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHRLPOSTCAG
P/E now vs peer median 33.6xmedian 22.3x 12.2xmedian 22.3x -3.6xmedian 22.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.4xmedian 0.7x 0.6xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 12.3x 7.9xmedian 12.3x 7.5xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 13.8x 6.3xmedian 13.8x 5.9xmedian 13.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.5x 1.1xmedian 1.5x 1.1xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -1.24median 0.57 1.75median 0.57 0.06median 0.57

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHRLPOSTCAG
Revenue $12.15B $8.41B $11.24B
Gross profit $1.90B $2.42B $2.68B
Operating income $573.89M $808.00M -$1.71B
Net income $342.71M $293.10M -$1.91B
Free cash flow $780.87M $553.10M $1.15B
EPS (diluted) $0.62 $5.71 $-3.97
Cash & equivalents $839.64M $265.60M $371.60M
Total debt $2.86B $7.63B $7.76B
Shares (diluted) 551.07M 51.30M 480.00M
Enterprise value $8.17B $2.51B $6.10B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHRLPOSTCAG
P/E 33.6x 12.2x -3.6x
P/FCF 14.7x 6.3x 5.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.5x 3.5x 5.3x
P/S 0.9x 0.4x 0.6x
P/B 1.5x 1.1x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 11.6x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 12.5x 7.9x 7.5x
EV/EBIT 23.5x 13.4x -8.3x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.3x 1.3x
EV/FCF 17.3x 19.6x 12.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.3x 10.9x 11.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.24 1.75 0.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHRLPOSTCAG
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.7% 6.2% -1.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.1% 8.3% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.2% 4.8% -7.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 12.1% -7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -43.2% -1.7% -230.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -21.1% 11.8% -39.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -54.6% -20.0% -324.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -26.9% -2.8% -55.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -54.6% -2.7% -324.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -27.0% 7.0% -55.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.3% 6.5% -17.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 15.5% 2.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.4% 27.8% -17.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 15.9% 13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHRLPOSTCAG
Gross margin 15.7% 28.8% 23.8%
EBITDA margin 8.9% 16.4% 16.8%
Operating margin 4.7% 9.6% -15.2%
Pretax margin 4.3% 4.7% -16.7%
Net margin 2.8% 3.5% -17.0%
FCF margin 6.4% 6.6% 10.3%
Operating cash flow margin 9.0% 11.8% 11.4%
Return on equity 4.3% 9.3% -29.9%
Return on assets 2.6% 2.3% -10.9%
Return on invested capital 3.5% 5.6% -12.3%
Return on capital employed 5.0% 6.8% -11.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.2x 3.4x -0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 1.0% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHRLPOSTCAG
Debt / assets 21.5% 59.4% 43.8%
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.5x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 5.3x 3.9x
Debt / FCF 3.7x 13.8x 6.7x
Liabilities / assets 40.9% 76.0% 63.8%
Equity / assets 59.1% 24.0% 36.2%
Interest coverage 7.3x 1.9x –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.9x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.9x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.26 1.42 1.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHRLPOSTCAG
Dividend yield 5.6% – 8.6%
Net buyback yield – 34.1% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 5.6% 34.1% 9.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 187.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 82.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.9% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.1% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHRLPOSTCAG
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 10.7xFY2026 9.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.40FY2026 $7.40FY2026 $1.50FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 -12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.9% -6.6% -2.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.68BFY2026 $7.73BFY2026 $10.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.5%FY2026 -5.2%FY2026 -8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.2% +8.9% +1.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHRLPOSTCAG
Held by institutions 43.8% 100.0% 88.4%
Institutions holding 622 418 785
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.0% -0.3% +3.9%
Institutions buying 323 177 486
Institutions selling 230 178 207
Buyers to sellers 1.40 0.99 2.35

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HRLPOSTCAG
HRL 1.00 0.23 0.46
POST 0.23 1.00 0.37
CAG 0.46 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HRL, POST and CAG?

Hormel Foods (HRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hormel Foods (HRL) $11.49B, Post Holdings (POST) $3.49B, Conagra Brands (CAG) $6.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, HRL, POST and CAG?

Post Holdings (POST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hormel Foods (HRL) 33.6x, Post Holdings (POST) 12.2x, Conagra Brands (CAG) -3.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Conagra Brands (CAG) is cheapest (Hormel Foods (HRL) 14.9x, Post Holdings (POST) 10.7x, Conagra Brands (CAG) 9.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Post Holdings (POST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hormel Foods (HRL) +0.7%, Post Holdings (POST) +6.2%, Conagra Brands (CAG) -1.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Post Holdings (POST) has the highest net margin (Hormel Foods (HRL) 2.8%, Post Holdings (POST) 3.5%, Conagra Brands (CAG) -17.0%). On return on invested capital, Post Holdings (POST) leads (Hormel Foods (HRL) 3.5%, Post Holdings (POST) 5.6%, Conagra Brands (CAG) -12.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hormel Foods (HRL) returned the most: Hormel Foods (HRL) -12.0%, Post Holdings (POST) -26.8%, Conagra Brands (CAG) -23.1%. Over five years, Post Holdings (POST) compounded fastest (Hormel Foods (HRL) -13.4%/yr, Post Holdings (POST) +3.5%/yr, Conagra Brands (CAG) -15.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Conagra Brands (CAG) has the highest dividend yield: Hormel Foods (HRL) 5.57%, Conagra Brands (CAG) 8.57%. Post Holdings (POST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Hormel Foods (HRL) has been the steadiest (Hormel Foods (HRL) 30.0%, Post Holdings (POST) 32.0%, Conagra Brands (CAG) 32.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HRL, POST and CAG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Post Holdings (POST) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.