The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Receives $158.84 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and fifteen have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $158.84.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $162.73 on Friday. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $32.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

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.