Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $170.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.33% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.35.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.84. The stock had a trading volume of 668,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,907. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.81 and its 200 day moving average is $180.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. Hershey has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 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.