Brokerages Set The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Price Target at $200.72

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $198.63.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in Hershey by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 3,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Hershey by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 71,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,307,000 after acquiring an additional 4,890 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Hershey by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 336,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,672,000 after acquiring an additional 27,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 11,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Hershey stock opened at $191.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.95. Hershey has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

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.