Food products company Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) could be considered a blue chip stock. Most companies that raise their dividends every year for more than five consecutive decades earn that label. But Hormel's stock price doesn't reflect that now -- it's down nearly 40% from the all-time high it reached two years ago.

Investing in broken blue chip companies can be a lucrative long-term strategy if their struggles relate to temporary issues. Hormel has been dealing with cost pressures that have dragged its margins lower and hurt earnings growth.

Should investors buy the stock, hold it if they already own it, or avoid it altogether?

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Source Fool.com