Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $188.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $204.00 to $188.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus cut their price target on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Edward Jones reiterated a hold rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $205.65.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $191.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.36. Hershey has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $248.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 297.9% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after buying an additional 294,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 3,404.3% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,879,000 after buying an additional 249,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.