Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives $197.56 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $218.2105.

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Hershey Stock Down 0.7%

HSY stock opened at $228.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.57. Hershey has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $234.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.64%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,394,215.73. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $272,506,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Hershey by 240.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after acquiring an additional 891,287 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,706,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.