JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $204.00 to $191.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.88% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Evercore upgraded shares of Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.06.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $1.76 during trading on Monday, hitting $175.42. 803,253 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,057,006. Hershey has a 12-month low of $161.29 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.62. The company has a market capitalization of $35.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 27,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 47.8% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 20.5% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 87,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,324,000 after acquiring an additional 14,836 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Hershey by 341.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 5,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $336,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.