Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $205.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $205.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded down $3.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $194.80. 567,005 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,974,058. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89. The company has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.76.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 67,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.2% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 29,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,988,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY grew its position in shares of Hershey by 353.3% in the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 4,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,099,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.