Bank of America Lowers Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $195.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.51% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3 %

HSY stock opened at $184.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. Hershey has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.33. The company has a market capitalization of $37.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.