BNP Paribas Exane Has Lowered Expectations for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane cut Hershey’s price target from $230 to $195 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 19% upside from the stock’s $163.85 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold,” based on eight Buy, 16 Hold, and one Sell rating, with an average target price of $201.43.
• Hershey exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.90 in EPS versus the $1.43 consensus and $2.79 billion in revenue, up 6.6% year over year; institutional investors own 57.96% of the stock.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $230.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price target indicates a potential upside of 19.01% from the company's current price.

HSY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $191.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.43.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $163.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,177,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,838,090. The stock has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $156.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company's fifty day moving average is $171.11 and its 200 day moving average is $189.41.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $274,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company's stock worth $251,706,000 after purchasing an additional 19,772 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 11.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 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 global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels.

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