Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Given New $247.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $238.00 to $247.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.68.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

HSY stock opened at $219.92 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $211.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 21,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 745,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,773,000 after acquiring an additional 35,578 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in Hershey by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Hershey News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 outperformance and continuing guidance support: Analysts and sector write-ups highlighted Hershey’s strong Q4 performance within the shelf-stable foods group (revenue and EPS beats and FY26 guidance noted earlier this season), which underpins the bullish sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift: Morgan Stanley raised Hershey’s price target (reported coverage) and has a more constructive stance, increasing upside expectations — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity tailwind for margins: Morgan Stanley’s sector note boosting Mondelez to top pick cites cocoa deflation — the same cocoa-price trend benefits Hershey by easing input-cost pressure and improving margin outlook across the industry. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic portfolio repositioning: Hershey began operating under a unified sweet/salty/protein portfolio structure aimed at clearer go-to-market focus and growth across faster segments — investors view this as supportive for organic growth and cross-selling. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sustainability / supply-chain collaboration: Hershey joined competitors on the TogetherCocoa initiative, a cooperative effort to address cocoa supply-chain resilience and sustainability — positive for long-term ingredient security and ESG positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational streamlining in the U.S.: Company plans to streamline U.S. businesses (potentially lowering costs), but details on charges, savings and timelines are limited — a watch item for near-term restructuring costs vs. long-term savings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive dividend narrative: Coverage labeling Hershey a “dividend monster” reinforces its defensive, income-oriented appeal to investors but is unlikely to trigger large re-ratings by itself. Read More.

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.