Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Falls 4.3% – Time to Sell?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Nov 11th, 2026

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $169.90 and last traded at $170.4060. Approximately 573,615 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,848,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $198.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.81.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on HSY

Hershey Trading Up 0.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $168.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.21. The company has a market capitalization of $34.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.72%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Hershey by 125.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,447,000 after purchasing an additional 109,418 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,664,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $274,871,000. Finally, First Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $1,555,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.