Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $187.3158.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $189.08 on Monday. Hershey has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $199.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $38.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $181.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.96.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $234,386,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 240.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after purchasing an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.