Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY)’s stock price has dropped by -1.25 in relation to previous closing price of 157.28. Nevertheless, the company has seen a loss of -6.85% in its stock price over the last five trading days. zacks.com reported 2025-01-14 that Hershey (HSY) closed at $155.31 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.25% move from the prior day.
Is It Worth Investing in Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is above average at 17.89x. The 36-month beta value for HSY is also noteworthy at 0.39. There are mixed opinions on the stock, with 2 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 2 rating it as “overweight,” 17 rating it as “hold,” and 4 rating it as “sell.”
The public float for HSY is 147.25M, and at present, short sellers hold a 4.72% of that float. The average trading volume of HSY on January 15, 2025 was 2.17M shares.
HSY’s Market Performance
HSY’s stock has seen a -6.85% decrease for the week, with a -12.25% drop in the past month and a -16.49% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.70%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.36% for Hershey Company The simple moving average for the last 20 days is -7.91% for HSY’s stock, with a simple moving average of -17.40% for the last 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 $170 based on the research report published on December 23, 2024 of the previous year 2024.
BofA Securities, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see HSY reach a price target of $180. The rating they have provided for HSY stocks is “Neutral” according to the report published on December 12th, 2024.
Wells Fargo gave a rating of “Underweight” to HSY, setting the target price at $160 in the report published on December 12th of the previous year.
HSY Trading at -10.72% 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 -26.71% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.36%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.70%, as shares sank -15.57% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -12.50% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, HSY fell by -6.85%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -19.82% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $168.66. In addition, Hershey Company saw -8.29% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at HSY starting from Raup Charles R, who proposed sale 1,000 shares at the price of $159.17 back on Jan 13 ’25. After this action, Raup Charles R now owns shares of Hershey Company, valued at $159,170 using the latest closing price.
Voskuil Steven E, the SVP, Chief Financial Officer of Hershey Company, sale 1,000 shares at $180.00 during a trade that took place back on Dec 03 ’24, which means that Voskuil Steven E is holding 30,228 shares at $180,000 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for HSY
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.22 for the present operating margin
- 0.43 for the gross margin
The net margin for Hershey Company stands at 0.16. The total capital return value is set at 0.28. Equity return is now at value 43.41, with 14.45 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 0.42. The debt to equity ratio resting at 1.34. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 14.11.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 2.75 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 1.76. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 3.32. The receivables turnover for the company is 9.6for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.87. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.85.
Conclusion
In summary, Hershey Company (HSY) has had a bad performance as of late. Analysts have bearish opinions on the stock, with some viewing it as a “sell” and others as a “hold”. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
