Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $147.30 and last traded at $146.91, with a volume of 8657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.79.

Hershey Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.93 and its 200-day moving average is $181.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 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.