Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $235.14 and last traded at $233.8860, with a volume of 344780 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $231.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $201.49 and its 200 day moving average is $189.72.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total value of $329,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 499,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,851,000 after acquiring an additional 86,692 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 22,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 22,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco raised its position in Hershey by 136.9% during the second quarter. Motco now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Company Profile

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.