Analysts Set Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) PT at $222.68

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are 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 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.2105.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $202.80 on Friday. Hershey has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 133.87%.

Hershey News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey announced it will revert to the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups recipe after consumer and family backlash—good PR and likely to calm a high‑profile brand risk. Hershey’s brings back original Reese’s recipe
• Positive Sentiment: Investors welcomed the company reaffirming its FY2026 outlook at investor day, which supports near‑term earnings cadence and helped initial buying interest. Hershey stock eyes rebound after reaffirming 2026 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Management laid out a multi‑year strategy to “lead next‑generation snacking” (salty and better‑for‑you categories, supply‑chain modernization). These are positive strategically but are longer‑term execution stories that may not immediately move the needle. Hershey Unveils Strategy to Lead Next Generation Snacking
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor day produced detailed commentary and an analyst transcript for review—useful for modeling but will take time to translate into forecast changes. Analyst/Investor Day Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts reacted by trimming expectations: UBS cut its price target to $215 and moved to Neutral, and Deutsche Bank lowered its expectations—pressure on sentiment and near‑term technicals. UBS lowers HSY price target
• Negative Sentiment: Market action shows selling pressure: the stock is trading down on higher-than-average volume after the investor day, suggesting some profit-taking given HSY’s rich valuation (high P/E). Hershey (HSY) Stock Dips While Market Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged that the broader recovery will take time—investors may be discounting longer timelines for margin recovery as cocoa and input dynamics normalize. Hershey outlook flags longer-term recovery

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is 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.