Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $150.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.21.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $162.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.61. Hershey has a twelve month low of $159.87 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $82,123,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,194.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 249,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,837,000 after purchasing an additional 230,077 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.