Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $203.6111.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.19. Hershey has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.23%.

About Hershey

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.