Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Cut to Underweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $160.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $175.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.17.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $183.10 on Thursday. Hershey has a twelve month low of $168.16 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.