Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Receives “Hold” Rating from Edward Jones

Edward Jones reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on HSY. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $192.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.81. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Hershey by 16.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 121.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,408,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,075,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.