Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $165.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $179.00 to $165.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.55.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Hershey stock opened at $181.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.81. Hershey has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $82,123,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,879,000 after acquiring an additional 249,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.