Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock Has Average Price Target of $203.00 According to Brokerages

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $199.44.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings cut Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $169.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Hershey has a 12 month low of $156.16 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 126.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 125.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,447,000 after purchasing an additional 109,418 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $62,664,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $274,871,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at $3,182,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Company Profile

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

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels.