Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $215.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 5.55% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.94.

Hershey Stock Down 0.7%

HSY opened at $170.53 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $181.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $34.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 24,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1,544.0% in the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 11.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 108.7% during the second quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.