The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Receives $164.15 Average Price Target from Analysts

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.15.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.91.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

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.