Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9 %

Hershey stock opened at $168.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.