The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $200.72.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 3,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 71,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,307,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 336,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,672,000 after buying an additional 27,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 11,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $195.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 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. Hershey has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid 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 2.81%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

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.