Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Hershey (NYSE:HSY) to Underperform

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $163.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $184.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential downside of 15.68% from the stock’s previous close.

HSY has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.63.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $193.32 on Thursday. Hershey has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.37 and a 200-day moving average of $194.04.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Hershey by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 89,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,755,000 after purchasing an additional 5,119 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 44,500.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 113.4% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 10,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.