The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Receives $163.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and sixteen have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.75.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $80,978,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8 %

Hershey stock opened at $164.33 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.30. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.