Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at TD Cowen

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $173.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.00.

Hershey Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $160.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $170.14 and its 200-day moving average is $189.16. The stock has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.10. Hershey has a 52-week low of $156.16 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results 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 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $274,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,706,000 after purchasing an additional 19,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.64, well above the $2.11 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.28 billion versus expectations of $3.25 billion. Earnings benefited from pricing, cost relief and tariff refunds. Hershey Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 earnings outlook, supported by margin improvements and pricing gains, despite ongoing volume challenges.
• Positive Sentiment: Management is targeting 2% to 4% sales growth in 2027 and expects an innovation pipeline approximately 50% larger than the prior year, potentially supporting longer-term growth. 2027 Sales Growth and Innovation Pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Hershey declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per common share, or $5.81 annualized, providing an indicated yield of roughly 3.6%. Hershey Declares Quarterly Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views were mixed: Evercore raised its price target to $225 and maintained an outperform rating, while BNP Paribas Exane cut its target to $195 but also retained an outperform rating. BNP Paribas Exane Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Hershey reduced its 2026 organic-sales growth forecast as higher prices, inflation, elevated gas costs and interest rates pressure consumers and weigh on Halloween candy purchases. Consumer Financial Pressures and Halloween Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Pricing is helping profit growth, but weaker volumes and cautious consumer spending raise concerns about the sustainability of earnings gains.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels.