Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives $187.32 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $188.3684.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $199.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.46. Hershey has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $200.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,126,594,000 after purchasing an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,305,000 after acquiring an additional 126,519 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after acquiring an additional 144,640 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.