The Dividend Daily

Goldman Sachs reported on Monday that they have removed chocolate company The Hershey Company(HSY) from their Conviction Buy List.

The firm has dropped their rating on HSY from “Conviction Buy” to “Neutral,” but has raised the company’s price target from $84 to $86. This price target suggests a 7% increase from the stock’s current price of $79.28.

A Goldman Sachs analyst noted, “we remove shares of HSY from the Americas Conviction List and Americas Buy List and downgrade to Neutral, as potential upside to our new $86, 12-month price target becomes less compelling following the stock’s recent strength. We believe Staples Global Growth peers MJN and MDLZ (both CLBuy) offer more compelling returns over the next 12 months. Following 4Q12 earnings, we raise FY13/FY14 EPS estimates 1%.”

Hershey shares were down 86 cents, or -1.07% during premarket trading Monday. The stock has increased 31% in the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of The Hershey Company(HSY) have a 2.10% yield, based on Friday’s closing price of $80.14.

The Hershey Company(HSY) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.