Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.7778.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $174.15. 2,420,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,286,708. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey has a 12-month low of $161.29 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in Hershey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.