Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Increased to $188.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $183.00 to $188.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 5.57% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.50.

Hershey Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE HSY traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $199.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,234,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,396. The company’s 50-day moving average is $189.81 and its 200 day moving average is $192.66. The firm has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.36. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $233.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hershey

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.