Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Cut to $195.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $209.67.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

HSY opened at $182.14 on Friday. Hershey has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $261.58. The company has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.25.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $882,405 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.8% in the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 4,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. American Trust lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.6% during the first quarter. American Trust now owns 24,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,795,000 after purchasing an additional 6,337 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 884.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.1% during the first quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 7,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peninsula Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.