Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $170.81 and last traded at $171.48, with a volume of 901574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 4.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.81.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.