Brokerages Set Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) PT at $170.83

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.2222.

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $185.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.66. Hershey has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.