JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $180.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $188.00 to $180.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Four 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $183.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.26. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 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 return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 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.