Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $193.81

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.81.

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $178.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,395,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,141,000 after buying an additional 127,113 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,706,000 after buying an additional 19,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 315.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,285,000 after buying an additional 822,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $173.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.19 and its 200 day moving average is $188.05. Hershey has a 52 week low of $156.16 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.72%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.