DA Davidson Lowers Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $185.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target cut by investment analysts at DA Davidson from $188.00 to $185.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.58% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $1.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $168.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,913,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,031. Hershey has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,126,594,000 after buying an additional 210,131 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,123,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after buying an additional 126,519 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after acquiring an additional 144,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is 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.