Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

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 company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $189.5263.

A number of equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $197.68 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.90. Hershey has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $201.86. The firm has a market cap of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $821,445 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.