Analysts Set Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Price Target at $218.33

Posted by Brian Himes on May 20th, 2026

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $218.3333.

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HSY

Hershey Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $192.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $201.27 and its 200 day moving average is $197.23. The company has a market cap of $39.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,859,600 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $446,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,395,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,141,000 after purchasing an additional 127,113 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Hershey by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,222 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 72.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 18,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,993 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 6,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

(Get Free Report)

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.