Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Edward Jones

Hershey (NYSE:HSY)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by research analysts at Edward Jones in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $184.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.52 and its 200 day moving average is $191.07. The firm has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.