Barclays Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $202.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Barclays from $204.00 to $202.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 4.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.61.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

HSY stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $193.40. The stock had a trading volume of 280,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,357. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Hershey has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.