Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $140.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HSY. Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $152.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. Hershey has a 1-year low of $150.31 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $171.86 and a 200-day moving average of $184.39.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 45,936 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $654,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.