Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Barclays

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.24% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Hershey stock traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,937,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $171.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. Hershey has a 1-year low of $150.31 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. 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. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 61.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company's stock worth $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Hershey by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,423,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $654,000. 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.