Piper Sandler Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $179.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target reduced by Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $179.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and cut their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $182.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $234,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $467,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% during the first quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 18,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3,323.2% in the 1st quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 8,308 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.