Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Raised to “Hold” at DA Davidson

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HSY has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $179.35. 136,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,001. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey has a 12-month low of $160.07 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hershey

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.