Hershey (NYSE:HSY) PT Lowered to $179.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $179.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential downside of 2.36% from the company’s current price.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.81.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $183.32 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $193.10 and a 200-day moving average of $191.17. Hershey has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PFS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.4% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 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.