Investment Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates for Hershey (HSY)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Hershey (NYSE: HSY) recently:

• 4/19/2024 – Hershey had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Edward Jones.
• 4/17/2024 – Hershey had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $200.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 4/15/2024 – Hershey had its price target lowered by analysts at Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $179.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/11/2024 – Hershey had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $213.00 to $199.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/26/2024 – Hershey was downgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $208.00 price target on the stock.
• 3/15/2024 – Hershey had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $213.00 price target on the stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HSY opened at $195.00 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.68. The stock has a market cap of $39.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 16.3% in the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.9% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 58,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,630,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.0% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,965,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 67,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.