Hershey Company (The) (HSY) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.44.

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,871,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $183,623,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hershey by 315.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $170.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.10. Hershey has a one year low of $156.16 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.23%.

About Hershey

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

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels.