Barclays Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $160.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by research analysts at Barclays from $170.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.05% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.05.

Hershey Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE HSY opened at $158.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $163.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.11. Hershey has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.