Piper Sandler Lowers Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $153.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $168.00 to $153.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.12% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $152.82 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $171.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.39. Hershey has a 52-week low of $150.31 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in Hershey by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $654,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.