Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Hershey’s price target from $190 to $170 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 4.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Hershey has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $203.67, with 16 Hold ratings versus six Buys.
• Hershey shares traded at $162.59, near their 52-week low, despite the company beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates with $1.90 in EPS and $2.79 billion in revenue.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.56% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $162.59. The company had a trading volume of 127,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,670. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $156.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hershey will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Hershey by 20.8% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 10,960 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,676,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,361 shares of the company's stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 11.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,032,000 after buying an additional 118,825 shares in 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 global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's.

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