Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $200.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $184.86 on Wednesday. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.