Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $180.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $215.00 to $180.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

HSY has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.94.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $172.31 on Wednesday. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $180.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 48.4% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $453,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 156,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,515,000 after purchasing an additional 18,952 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.