JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $151.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $171.00 to $151.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HSY. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

HSY stock opened at $152.82 on Thursday. Hershey has a one year low of $150.31 and a one year high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 63.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.