Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $153.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lowered by analysts at Piper Sandler from $168.00 to $153.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.56% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on HSY. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.89.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $152.15. The stock had a trading volume of 415,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,729. Hershey has a twelve month low of $150.31 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake 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 during the period. 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.