UBS Group Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $190.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore upgraded Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.56.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

HSY opened at $171.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $182.21 and its 200-day moving average is $197.13. Hershey has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after buying an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after buying an additional 104,024 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.