The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $188.41.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $174.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.86. Hershey has a 52-week low of $168.16 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $35.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.