The Hershey Company (HSY) stock was down on Tuesday after it named Kirk Tanner as its next CEO. Tanner, the current President and CEO of Wendy’s (WEN), will take over as the CEO of Hershey on August 18. Tanner also previously served in leadership roles at Pepsi (PEP).
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Tanner will replace current Hershey CEO Michele Buck, whose departure was announced earlier this year. Tanner is set to leave Wendy’s on July 18, with Chief Financial Officer Ken Cook taking over as interim CEO. The burger chain will also conduct a search for a permanent replacement.
While Buck is retiring after her seven-year tenure at Hershey, she will stick around to ensure a smooth transition when Tanner takes over. This will have her serving in a senior advisory capacity to the new CEO. Buck said she is “thrilled to see Kirk step into the role and look forward to working closely to help him onboard as he makes the transition to Hershey.”
Hershey Stock Movement Today
While Buck is excited about retirement and Tanner taking over, investors aren’t as confident. As a result, shares of HSY stock were down 1.77% today, as the news rattled shareholders’ confidence. HSY stock is a bit of a mixed bag, with a 3.73% increase year-to-date but a 3.94% drop over the past 12 months.
Recent analyst coverage of HSY stock includes a Sell rating and $120 price target, implying a possible 30.09% downside, from four-star Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery.
Is Hershey Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Hershey is Hold, based on 12 Hold and two Sell ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average HSY stock price target of $160.85, representing a potential 6.3% downside for the shares.
