DA Davidson Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by DA Davidson from $164.00 to $149.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $154.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.38. Hershey has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.