Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Hershey has an average analyst rating of “Hold” from 23 brokerages, with 16 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $218.33.
• Several analysts recently cut their price targets on HSY, including DA Davidson, UBS, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold.
• Hershey’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.35 versus $2.04 expected and revenue of $3.10 billion versus $3.03 billion expected. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, yielding about 3.1%.

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $218.3333.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $186.84 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $202.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.91. Hershey has a 1 year low of $150.04 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.