Analysts Set The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Target Price at $164.15

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and sixteen have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.15.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $172.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.50. Hershey has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.