Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price Target Lowered at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $183.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $198.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $173.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.24.

Hershey Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $5.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,261,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,847,439. Hershey has a 52 week low of $156.16 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 9.6% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares in the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $3,105,000. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 88,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,922,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,950,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,776,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.64 per share, well above the roughly $2.11–$2.12 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.28 billion also exceeded expectations and rose 3% year over year. Hershey Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Pricing gains, cost relief and tariff refunds drove a sharp increase in quarterly profit, prompting Hershey to raise its 2026 earnings outlook. The stronger results provide support for the stock despite volume weakness. HSY Q3 Earnings Top Estimates on Cost Relief and Pricing Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management maintained its 2027 sales-growth target of 2% to 4% and highlighted a substantially larger innovation pipeline and productivity initiatives as longer-term growth drivers. Hershey Targets 2027 Sales Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per common share, equivalent to $5.81 annually and a yield of approximately 3.6%, supporting the income-investment case. Hershey Declares Quarterly Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary characterizes HSY as a long-term momentum stock, but these assessments are based largely on quantitative ranking factors rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Why Hershey Is a Top Momentum Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Hershey reduced its 2026 organic-sales outlook as high prices, inflation, interest rates and gasoline costs pressure shoppers. Convenience-store candy sales fell 5% in September, and management said the final days of Halloween are critical. Hershey Warns Financial Pressures Could Weigh on Halloween Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Higher cocoa and sugar costs are creating margin risk, while consumers are trading down to smaller candy packages. TD Cowen downgraded HSY to “hold” and cut its price target to $173 from $198; BNP Paribas Exane also reduced its target. Halloween Gets Pricier as Chocolate Costs Rise

Hershey Company Profile

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.