The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and sixteen have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $164.15.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $178.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. Hershey has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.49 and a 200 day moving average of $177.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.