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

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HSY. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $180.08. 147,438 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,046,001. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. 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 has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. 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.