Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Cut to $185.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Mizuho from $195.00 to $185.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.91% from the stock’s previous close.

HSY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $192.54 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.27 and its 200-day moving average is $197.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey has a 1 year low of $150.04 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $1,859,600. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Company Profile

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.