Hershey (NYSE:HSY) PT Lowered to $195.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lowered by Bank of America from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.18. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $283,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Hershey by 2.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 279,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,616,000 after buying an additional 5,872 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 31.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 33.8% in the third quarter. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC now owns 15,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,022,000 after buying an additional 3,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 7.6% in the third quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.