Piper Sandler Cuts Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $153.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $168.00 to $153.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HSY. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.42.

Hershey Trading Down 0.8 %

HSY stock opened at $152.82 on Thursday. Hershey has a one year low of $150.31 and a one year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $171.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Hershey by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $654,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.