Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $185.00 to $207.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 4.63% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.32.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $197.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,086,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,262. The firm has a market cap of $40.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $201.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.71.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $234,386,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 240.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after buying an additional 605,048 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,706,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.