Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $168.00 to $153.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $152.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $150.31 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.39.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Hershey by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $82,123,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 163.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.