Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $163.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective hoisted by DA Davidson from $162.00 to $163.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.40.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $166.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Hershey has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.60 and a 200-day moving average of $168.65.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 95.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,558,000 after purchasing an additional 106,450 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 24,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.