Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $161.04 and last traded at $161.2390, with a volume of 482343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’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. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 23.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 last quarter. Andra AP fonden grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 272.2% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 91,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,001,000 after buying an additional 66,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.