Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Rating Reiterated by Edward Jones

Edward Jones restated their hold rating on shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $186.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Hershey has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $4,173,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 21.4% in the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 152,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,592,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Hershey by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,111,000 after buying an additional 43,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.