Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong sell” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $182.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $157.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 1.34% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hershey from $180.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.32.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:HSY opened at $179.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.67. Hershey has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $199.00.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $234,386,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 240.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after purchasing an additional 891,287 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,588,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.