Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Cut to $179.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $179.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on HSY. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $223.81.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:HSY traded down $3.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $182.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,005,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,748. The company has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. Hershey has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,173,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,603,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 37,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,955,000 after acquiring an additional 9,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Hershey by 396.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 173,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,599,000 after acquiring an additional 138,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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.