The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Posted by on Jun 22nd, 2022

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $219.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $218.00 in a report on Friday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $255.00 in a report on Friday, April 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, March 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $226.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, April 29th.

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $215.07 on Wednesday. Hershey has a 12-month low of $167.80 and a 12-month high of $231.60. The stock has a market cap of $326.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.14 and a 200 day moving average of $206.93.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.43. Hershey had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 61.65%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.901 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 19th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.27%.

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 173 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $36,167.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 530 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $110,801.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,503 shares of company stock worth $3,602,455 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. O Dell Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 109.8% during the fourth quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Oak Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.96% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey (Get Rating)

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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and protein bars.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

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