Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $178.71 and last traded at $178.81, with a volume of 278910 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.61.

Hershey Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $191.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hershey

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.