Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target Raised to $247.00

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $238.00 to $247.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HSY. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.68.

Hershey Stock Down 2.4%

HSY stock opened at $212.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.06. The company has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm 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. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 133.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $1,870,880 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.