Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $179.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by Piper Sandler from $200.00 to $179.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $184.86 on Monday. Hershey has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $192.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.