Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Raised to $195.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $195.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.79.

Hershey Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $36.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.45.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 4.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Hershey by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.