Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $235.14 and last traded at $233.8860, with a volume of 344780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey’s recent quarter beat estimates and management set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS, confirming solid top-line growth and margin resilience — a primary driver for investor confidence. MarketBeat earnings & guidance summary
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81), increasing yield and income appeal for dividend-focused investors. Dividend growth reinforces the defensive, cash-return profile of HSY. MarketBeat dividend notice
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial outlets continue to view Hershey as a high-quality, wide-moat consumer stock — it was featured on a list of five non-tech wide-moat leaders, supporting demand from long-term, defensive investors. Buy 5 Non-Tech Wide Moat Stocks to Enhance Your Portfolio Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Food & beverage peers reported mixed results (e.g., Monster, Hormel, Smucker beats/metrics). These sector data points help set category expectations but are not company-specific catalysts for HSY. Monster Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares (avg. $226.07) and another senior insider, Rohit Grover, sold 3,500 shares on Feb. 24. While small relative to total holdings and not unusual following share-price strength, these sales can be perceived negatively by some investors. Insider selling disclosure

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.21.

Hershey Trading Up 2.1%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $202.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 133.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Hershey by 546.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,439,000 after buying an additional 893,940 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 240.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after acquiring an additional 891,287 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 150.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,731,000 after acquiring an additional 767,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,559,000 after acquiring an additional 605,048 shares during the period. 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.