The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $223.33.

A number of equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. Hershey has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

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.