Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $193.00 to $183.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.44.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $170.90 on Thursday. Hershey has a 1 year low of $156.16 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.10. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.20.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sylvest Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.1% during the first quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC now owns 5,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its holdings in Hershey by 17.1% in the second quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 2.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its stake in Hershey by 10.7% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.