Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $125.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.96. Hershey has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the period. 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.