Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 7.70% from the stock’s previous close.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.21.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $162.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.77. The company has a market cap of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. Hershey has a twelve month low of $159.87 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 3,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 317,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,762,000 after buying an additional 42,550 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 24,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Hershey by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 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.