Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Increases Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $199.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $191.00 to $199.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.19% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $198.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.52. 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 has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $213.85.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its stake in Hershey by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after buying an additional 17,890 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $972,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,383,000. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after buying an additional 4,854 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.