Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $200.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of HSY opened at $185.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. Hershey has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFS Investments Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its position in Hershey by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in Hershey by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.