Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Piper Sandler

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) was upgraded by Piper Sandler from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.32.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $180.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Hershey has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $199.00.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.