Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Cut to $200.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $200.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. 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 research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $182.45 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $349,448,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2,693.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,559 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,378,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,202,000 after purchasing an additional 369,940 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, 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.