Piper Sandler Increases Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Price Target to $167.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its target price for Hershey stock from $160 to $167, indicating a potential downside of 11.12% based on current stock prices.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.21 earnings per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.98, and reported revenue of $2.61 billion.
• Multiple brokerages, including Morgan Stanley and Mizuho, have increased their price targets for Hershey, with the average consensus price target now at $171.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $160.00 to $167.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's price target points to a potential downside of 9.70% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE HSY traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.95. 871,541 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,221. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. Hershey has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $37.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company'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 transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% 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 valued at $15,759,755 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 203,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,419,000 after buying an additional 2,401 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 496,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,128,000 after buying an additional 27,353 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hershey

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.