Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $218.0556.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore raised Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $176.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.75. The stock has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.09. Hershey has a 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC increased its position in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial increased its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Hershey by 833.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.