Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $165.00 at Citigroup

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $173.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.05.

Hershey Trading Down 1.3 %

HSY opened at $168.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. Hershey has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Hershey by 49.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 14,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,433 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.