Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.7778.

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $179.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.54. Hershey has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

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.