Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Downgraded to “Neutral” at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BNP Paribas currently has $208.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, December 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $225.48.

Hershey Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of HSY opened at $190.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.34. Hershey has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 152,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,592,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,603,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 396.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 173,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,599,000 after buying an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 37,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,955,000 after purchasing an additional 9,858 shares during the period. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 235.3% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 8,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 5,661 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently 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.