Analysts Set Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Target Price at $208.28

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $203.6111.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $178.66 on Friday. Hershey has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $178.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.45. The firm has a market cap of $36.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial increased its holdings in Hershey by 38,266.7% in the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Hershey by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.