Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.21.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $210.72 on Tuesday. Hershey has a 1 year low of $150.04 and a 1 year high of $239.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $218.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.57.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 32.4% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.6% in the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 9.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.