Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Friday. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.88% from the company’s current price.
The analysts wrote, “We admire CLX’s lean operating structure, strong market shares in midsize categories, and track record of an innovationdriven top line. However, we view weak category growth as both a nearterm and longterm headwind to growth, and, as such, see the riskreward at these levels as less than compelling.””
Several other research analysts have also commented on HSY. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $113.00 price target on shares of Hershey and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.72.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.04). Hershey had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 124.06%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hershey announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 26th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, SVP D Michael Wege sold 15,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.18, for a total transaction of $1,678,629.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michele Buck sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total transaction of $43,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 164,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,808,876. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,117 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,629 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 417.5% during the third quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,297,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,613,000 after buying an additional 1,046,500 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $105,956,000. Koch Industries Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $614,000. Troy Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $66,396,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 15.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,368,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,949,000 after buying an additional 582,715 shares in the last quarter. 51.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Hershey Company Profile
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.
