The stock of Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) has decreased by -2.62 when compared to last closing price of 172.05. Despite this, the company has experienced a -0.79% fall in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. fool.com reported 2025-06-21 that I like consumer goods stocks, particularly those with a focus on providing me access to companies that support the everyday purchases of everyday people. A lot of companies fall into this broad grouping, but three of my top picks right now are Realty Income (O -0.69%), which needs a bit of explaining, Hormel Foods (HRL 0.75%), and Hershey (HSY 1.17%).
Is It Worth Investing in Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) Right Now?
Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66x compared to its average ratio. HSY has 36-month beta value of 0.29. Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 3 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 1 as “overweight,” 17 as “hold,” and 2 as “sell.”
The public float for HSY is 147.29M, and currently, short sellers hold a 5.81% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of HSY on June 26, 2025 was 1.67M shares.
HSY’s Market Performance
The stock of Hershey Company (HSY) has seen a -0.79% decrease in the past week, with a 7.85% rise in the past month, and a 1.40% gain in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.73%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 1.56% for HSY. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 0.73% for HSY’s stock, with a -2.50% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of HSY
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for HSY stocks, with Mizuho repeating the rating for HSY by listing it as a “Neutral.” The predicted price for HSY in the upcoming period, according to Mizuho is $155 based on the research report published on May 28, 2025 of the current year 2025.
Bernstein, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see HSY reach a price target of $155, previously predicting the price at $147. The rating they have provided for HSY stocks is “Mkt Perform” according to the report published on May 02nd, 2025.
Morgan Stanley gave a rating of “Equal-Weight” to HSY, setting the target price at $183 in the report published on March 24th of the current year.
HSY Trading at 1.65% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought HSY to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -19.46% of loss for the given period.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at HSY starting from Grover Rohit, who sale 1,333 shares at the price of $165.00 back on Jun 09 ’25. After this action, Grover Rohit now owns 40,735 shares of Hershey Company, valued at $219,945 using the latest closing price.
Turoff James, the SVP, GC & Secretary of Hershey Company, sale 1,300 shares at $165.00 during a trade that took place back on Jun 09 ’25, which means that Turoff James is holding 26,621 shares at $214,500 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for HSY
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.21 for the present operating margin
- 0.43 for the gross margin
The net margin for Hershey Company stands at 0.15. The total capital return value is set at 0.21. Equity return is now at value 37.48, with 12.50 for asset returns.
Based on Hershey Company (HSY), the company’s capital structure generated 0.57 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.38. The debt to equity ratio resting at 1.34. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 12.63.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 3.1 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 1.91. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 3.6. The receivables turnover for the company is 12.23for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.77. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 1.59.
Conclusion
To put it simply, Hershey Company (HSY) has had a mixed performance in recent times. Analysts have a bullish opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It is worth mentioning that the stock is currently trading in close proximity to its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
