Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price Down 4.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Hershey's stock price fell 4.4%, closing at $176.14, with trading volume significantly down by 76% compared to average levels.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with five rating the stock as a sell and sixteen as a hold, with a consensus target price of $169.68.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 3.1%.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 4.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $176.22 and last traded at $176.14. 438,077 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,853,356 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $169.68.

Hershey Trading Down 4.6%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company's stock worth $3,126,594,000 after buying an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 2,977 shares of the company's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,705,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Hershey by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA grew its position in Hershey by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,859 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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