Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wells Fargo & Company

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $161.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.08. Hershey has a 52 week low of $156.16 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Hershey by 125.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,447,000 after buying an additional 109,418 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,664,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $3,182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.