Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Downgraded to Neutral at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. BNP Paribas currently has $208.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered Hershey from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $225.48.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $194.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.81. Hershey has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PFS Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.