Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Raised to $167.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $160.00 to $167.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on HSY. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $171.22.

Hershey Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:HSY opened at $185.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.66. Hershey has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,386,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 18,311.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 6,721.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $125,868,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.