The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and fifteen have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.40.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5%

HSY stock opened at $171.00 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.29. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,238 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently 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.