Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) issued its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report

Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) issued its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report – titled “Shared Goodness” – showcasing progress made in 2015 against a variety of priority issues. Building on 2014, Hershey made continued progress through a range of efforts supporting the company’s commitment to responsible sourcing, ingredient transparency, simple ingredients and environmental sustainability. Additionally, 2015 marked the launch of Hershey’s Nourishing Minds program, the company’s global shared social purpose. The innovative program provides children in need with the basic nutrition they need to learn and allows Hershey to help address this critical issue with its deep expertise in food production.

“No trend impacts our industry more than consumers’ changing relationship with food, and this year we addressed consumer expectations better than ever before, starting with our commitment to simpler, more sustainable ingredients and greater transparency,” said John P. Bilbrey, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company. “As we look to the future, we are proud of the goals we set and are confident that our efforts will continue to increase in quality and importance, creating value for our business and helping us have a more positive impact on the world.”

Hershey Equity Analysis

Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) opened trading today as $96.42 and is trading in the range of 93.54-96.71 today. Hershey’s current market cap stands at $20.57 billion.

Compared to other peers in the Confectioners sector, Hershey hasn’t performed in terms of quarterly revenue growth year over year at -0.06 vs. the industry average of 0.00.

Hershey is currently covered by 17 Wall Street analysts. The mean target price is $90.38 according to First Call. This presents a solid downside to the current price of the equity. The Mean Recommendation sits at 2.8 which is based on 2 Strong Buy, 1 Buy and 12 Hold ratings.

The most recent analyst actions consisted of BofA/Merrill downgrading the stock on April 20^th and JP Morgan initiating coverage with a downgrade rating back in January.

The current quarter EPS consensus estimate is 0.79 with revenue estimates of 1.61B. Sales are expected to grow at a 2.20% rate. Hershey reported actual earnings last quarter of 1.10 which beat the 1.07 consensus estimate, a 2.80% surprise.

Corporate Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells chocolate and sugar confectionery products, pantry items, and gum and mint refreshment products. It offers milk chocolate bars, nuggets and drops chocolates, chocolate candies, candy bars, boxed chocolates, spreads, peanut butter cups, candy bars, wafer bars, toffee bars, wafer bars, caramel soft crèmes, and chocolate chips, as well as chocolate-covered fruits, fruit juice pieces, and nuts. It also provides macadamia snack nuts, peanut caramel bars, malted milk balls, peppermint patties, high-cacao dark chocolate products, and natural and organic chocolate products. In addition, the company offers refreshment products, such as mints and chewing gum products; pantry items comprising baking products, and toppings and sundae syrups; and beverage and cooking oil products.