Hershey's (HSY) Hold Rating Reiterated at Edward Jones

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reaffirmed by Edward Jones in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $185.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,740,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,138. The company's 50 day moving average price is $192.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.07. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.