Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Cut to $200.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

HSY opened at $182.45 on Wednesday. Hershey has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.87 and a 200-day moving average of $191.11. The stock has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. 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 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFS Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its stake in Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.