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

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $205.00 to $183.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.45% from the company’s previous close.

HSY has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.56.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.35 on Friday, hitting $175.20. 1,495,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,679,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Hershey has a 52 week low of $171.67 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.34. The firm has a market cap of $35.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares during the period. 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.