Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)’s stock price fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $169.90 and last traded at $170.4060. Approximately 573,615 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,848,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $173.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $170.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $178.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.81.

Hershey Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.41. The company has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.08.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 65.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Hershey by 125.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,447,000 after buying an additional 109,418 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $62,664,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $274,871,000. Finally, Woodstock Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 45.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 41,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,891 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile