Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Raised to $277.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Financial News Live · Feb 6, 2023 16:12

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) had its target price upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $255.00 to $277.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, November 15th. They set a neutral rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hershey from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Hershey from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $224.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $243.71.

Get Hershey alerts:

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Hershey stock opened at $236.28 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.80. Hershey has a one year low of $193.09 and a one year high of $242.63.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.036 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 52.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.39, for a total transaction of $3,140,557.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,180,816.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co sold 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.83, for a total value of $1,985,138.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,147,792.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.39, for a total value of $3,140,557.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,180,816.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,023 shares of company stock worth $9,293,587. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.17% of the company's stock.

Hershey Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.

Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Hershey (HSY)
Is C3.ai Artificial Intelligence Product Suite a Gamechanger?
MarketBeat Week in Review – 1/30 – 2/3
Are Penny Stocks Worth it? Should You Invest in Penny Stocks?
Zimmer Biomet Beats on Earnings, Growth May be Priced In
AI Software Maker EPAM Boasts Biggest Tech-Sector Rally

Receive News & Ratings for Hershey Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hershey and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

The above content is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice related to Futu. Although we strive to ensure the truthfulness, accuracy, and originality of all such content, we cannot guarantee it.