Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $185.00 to $195.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.32.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $182.05 on Thursday. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $36.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $224,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,269,000. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA increased its position in Hershey by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 145,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,745,000 after buying an additional 74,894 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 694.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after buying an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $271,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile

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.