Hershey (HSY) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$172.65 +6.55 (+3.94%)

As of 11:52 AM Eastern

Hershey - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Reduce

Based on 21 Analyst Ratings

Sell
5

Hold
16

Buy
0

Based on 21 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Hershey in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce." Out of the 21 analysts, 5 have given a sell rating, and 16 have given a hold rating for HSY.

Consensus Price Target

$164.15
-4.92% Downside

According to the 21 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Hershey, the average price target is $164.15. The highest price target for HSY is $225.00, while the lowest price target for HSY is $120.00. The average price target represents a forecasted downside of -4.92% from the current price of $172.65.

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HSY Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 2/22/24 to 2/21/25	1 Month Ago 1/23/24 to 1/22/25	3 Months Ago 11/24/23 to 11/23/24	1 Year Ago 2/22/23 to 2/22/24
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)
Hold	16 Hold rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)
Sell	5 Sell rating(s)	6 Sell rating(s)	5 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$164.15	$175.00	$189.33	$228.33
Forecasted Upside	-4.92% Downside	15.75% Upside	8.31% Upside	17.98% Upside
Consensus Rating	Reduce	Reduce	Reduce	Hold

HSY Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

HSY Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Hershey Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Hershey	Consumer Staples Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	1.76	2.50	2.53
Consensus Rating	Reduce	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	-2.41% Downside	42.34% Upside	12.83% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent HSY News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
2/10/2025	Barclays 3 of 5 stars	Andrew Lazar Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$170.00 ➝ $160.00	+3.24%
2/10/2025	DA Davidson 3 of 5 stars	Brian Holland Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$164.00 ➝ $149.00	-3.86%
2/7/2025	Stifel Nicolaus 4 of 5 stars	Matthew Smith Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$170.00 ➝ $160.00	+3.27%
2/7/2025	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	T. Palmer Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Sell ➝ Neutral	$159.00 ➝ $154.00	+1.03%
2/5/2025	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target		$170.00 ➝ $140.00	-3.52%
2/5/2025	Bernstein Bank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$177.00 ➝ $146.00	+0.57%
2/3/2025	Royal Bank of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Nik Modi Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Sector Perform ➝ Sector Perform	$178.00 ➝ $178.00	+20.17%
1/31/2025	Piper Sandler Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Michael Lavery Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Neutral ➝ Underweight	$153.00 ➝ $120.00	-21.05%
1/23/2025	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Steve Powers Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$184.00 ➝ $148.00	-2.10%
1/21/2025	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Rob Dickerson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Underperform ➝ Underperform	$150.00 ➝ $134.00	-12.83%
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1/17/2025	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	C. Carey Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Underweight ➝ Underweight	$150.00 ➝ $140.00	-9.16%
1/16/2025	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	P. Grom Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$189.00 ➝ $163.00	+5.76%
1/16/2025	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Ken Goldman Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$171.00 ➝ $151.00	-0.49%
1/8/2025	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$190.00 ➝ $172.00	+7.11%
12/12/2024	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Neutral	$180.00	+1.61%
10/22/2024	Redburn Atlantic Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	B. Zhu Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Sell	$165.00	-10.70%
10/7/2024	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	A. Howard Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Market Perform	$230.00 ➝ $205.00	+6.86%
8/14/2024	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	T. Conrad Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold
8/12/2024	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Sell	$185.00	-8.19%
4/19/2024	Edward Jones Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Hold
3/26/2024	BNP Paribas Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Neutral	$208.00	+8.19%
2/12/2024	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Equal Weight ➝ Underweight	$191.00 ➝ $183.00	-6.37%
10/13/2023	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Overweight	$240.00	+27.90%
9/22/2023	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$248.00	+19.17%
5/2/2023	VNET Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Maintains
4/28/2023	Evercore ISI Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Inline	$255.00 ➝ $265.00	-2.03%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Friday at 11:43 AM ET.

Should I Buy Hershey Stock? HSY Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Sunday, February 16, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Hershey pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Hershey
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in The Hershey Company:

The Hershey Company recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.69, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.40, indicating strong financial performance and potential for growth.
The current stock price is $157.99, which may present a buying opportunity for investors looking to enter at a lower price point compared to its 12-month high of $211.92.
The company has a solid dividend yield of 3.47%, with a recent quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, appealing to income-focused investors.
Hershey has a strong return on equity of 44.77%, suggesting effective management and profitability, which can attract investors looking for efficient capital use.
Institutional investors hold 57.96% of the company's stock, indicating confidence from large financial entities in The Hershey Company's future performance.

Hershey
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in The Hershey Company for these reasons:

Recent stock performance shows a decline of 1.8%, which may indicate market volatility and potential risks for investors.
Analysts have mixed ratings, with five giving a sell rating and only sixteen recommending a hold, suggesting uncertainty about the stock's future performance.
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, which, while not excessively high, indicates some reliance on debt financing that could pose risks in a rising interest rate environment.
Hershey's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.49 may suggest that the stock is overvalued compared to its earnings, which could deter value investors.
Recent insider selling, including a transaction where the CAO sold 278 shares, may raise concerns about the company's future prospects from those within the organization.

HSY Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 21 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Hershey is $164.15, with a high forecast of $225.00 and a low forecast of $120.00.
: 21 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Hershey in the last year. There are currently 5 sell ratings and 16 hold ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "reduce" HSY shares.
: According to analysts, Hershey's stock has a predicted downside of -4.92% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Hershey's stock had 2 downgrades and 1 upgrade by analysts.
: Hershey has been rated by research analysts at Bank of America, Barclays, Bernstein Bank, Citigroup, DA Davidson, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Jefferies Financial Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho, Piper Sandler, Royal Bank of Canada, Stifel Nicolaus, TD Cowen, UBS Group, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Hershey less than other "consumer staples" companies. The consensus rating for Hershey is Reduce while the average consensus rating for "consumer staples" companies is Hold. Learn more on how HSY compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:HSY) was last updated on 2/21/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Hershey (HSY) Stock Forecast & Price Target