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

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.6842.

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $213.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.34. The firm has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a PE ratio of 49.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,974,210.99. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.