Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $183.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $205.00 to $183.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $190.56.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

HSY stock traded up $2.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $175.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,115,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,510. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.13. Hershey has a 12 month low of $171.67 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.