Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $202.00 to $180.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $178.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.05. Hershey has a 1-year low of $171.67 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.