Hershey (NYSE:HSY) received a $113.00 price objective from analysts at Susquehanna Bancshares in a research note issued on Monday. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna Bancshares’ price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.00% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Hershey from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 27th. UBS lowered their price objective on Hershey from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.35.
Hershey (NYSE HSY) traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $114.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,596,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,538. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $100.11 and a fifty-two week high of $116.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $24,045.64, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.39.
Hershey announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 26th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, SVP D Michael Wege sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.26, for a total value of $121,286.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michele Buck sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total value of $43,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 164,497 shares in the company, valued at $17,765,676. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,949 shares of company stock worth $3,594,640 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cleararc Capital Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Cleararc Capital Inc. now owns 3,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geneva Advisors LLC now owns 4,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.32% of the company’s stock.
About Hershey
The Hershey Company is a producer of chocolate in North America. The Company’s principal product offerings include chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products; pantry items, such as baking ingredients and beverages, and snack items, such as spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites and mixes.
