Evercore Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Key Points

• Evercore raised its Hershey price target from $210 to $225 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 37% upside from the stock’s $163.85 trading price.
• Despite Evercore’s bullish outlook, broader analyst sentiment remains cautious: Hershey has a consensus “Hold” rating, with 16 Holds, eight Buys, and one Sell, and an average price target of $201.43.
• Hershey’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.90 per share versus the $1.43 consensus and revenue of $2.79 billion, up 6.6% year over year.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Evercore from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Evercore's price target indicates a potential upside of 37.32% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $206.00 price target (down from $212.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.43.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4%

HSY traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,177,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,838,090. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.10. Hershey has a twelve month low of $156.16 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.41.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 17.1% in the second quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 410 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 2.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Hershey by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,751 shares of the company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hershey

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.