Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $205.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $200.00 to $205.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $200.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $192.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.97. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.62.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. Hershey’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.