Hershey (NYSE:HSY) PT Lowered to $165.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $179.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential downside of 9.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.80.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.20 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. Hershey has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 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.