Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.78.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4%

Hershey stock opened at $166.28 on Friday. Hershey has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSY. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 23.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 272.2% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 91,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,001,000 after purchasing an additional 66,699 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $268,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, salty snacks and pantry products sold under brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.

Milton S. Hershey founded the company in 1894, and its milk chocolate business helped establish Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a center of American chocolate production. The company has expanded beyond its original chocolate offerings through product development, licensing arrangements and acquisitions in the confectionery and snack categories.

Hershey serves consumers primarily in the United States and Canada and markets its products internationally through retail, e-commerce and other distribution channels.