Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly neutral on Hershey: 25 firms give the stock an average “Hold” rating, with a consensus 1-year price target of $193.81.
• Hershey beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.64 versus $2.11 expected and revenue of $3.28 billion; revenue rose 3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equivalent to an annualized $5.81 and a 3.3% yield.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.81.

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $173.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, October 30th.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $177.96 on Friday. Hershey has a 1 year low of $156.16 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $35.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.44 and a 200-day moving average of $188.41.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 65.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $26,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

About Hershey

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