Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HSY. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.67.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $168.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.59. The company has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares during 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.