Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives $187.32 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $189.5263.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $197.68 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $184.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.81. The stock has a market cap of $40.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $201.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.