HSY NYSE Week ended 31 Jul 2026

Weekly Investor Report

Hershey Co · Consumer Defensive · Confectioners

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Latest close 175.1 USD
0.4% latest week
Weekly setup

Weak trend

The weekly trend is not active. Price is -10.2% below the Trend Line and sits at 21.5% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 0.4%, after a -3.9% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. Options positioning is mixed with 31/100 conviction, while the latest news-sentiment score is 57/100.

Setup score 34 out of 100
Latest Close 175.1 USD 31 Jul 2026
1W Return 0.4% latest completed week
4W Return -3.9% short-term follow-through
12W Return -5.1% quarterly tape
Trend Breadth 73.1% 38 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio 1.1x vs 13-week average
What is working
  • No strong opportunity cluster is confirmed yet; monitor trend and activity pressure.
What could go wrong
  • The trend backdrop is inactive, so price action has not confirmed a constructive regime.
  • Price is below the Trend Line, which keeps downside pressure in focus.
  • Price is below Fair Value, so the market is still discounting the latest tape.
  • Activity pressure is negative, which weakens the current setup.
What to watch next
  • Trend Line remains the key weekly regime level.
  • Activity pressure is the gauge to monitor for confirmation or fade.
  • A volume ratio above 1.5x would show stronger participation in the next move.
Price follow-through 0.4% Latest completed week; four-week move -3.9%. Indicator stack 40/34 Trend and activity pressure are weighted against the latest 12-week confirmation window. Trend backdrop Active The trend backdrop defines the current weekly regime. Patient Capital Quiet Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing. Options pressure Mixed 31/100 conviction; expected move 3.2%. News sentiment 57/100 64 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read. Event risk 30 Jul Latest stored earnings date was 30 Jul 2026.
01 · Price action

Where price is—and whether the trend supports it

The weekly trend is not active. Price is -10.2% below the Trend Line and sits at 21.5% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 0.4%, after a -3.9% four-week move.

Study the full chart

52-week price path

Price vs Trend Line and Fair Value
Price Trend Line Fair Value
02 · Volume and demand

Is real participation confirming the move?

Latest weekly volume is 1.1x the 13-week average. Participation is around or above normal and provides reasonable confirmation.

26-week volume confirmation

Bar height shows volume; colour shows the weekly price direction
6 Feb 13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 1 May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 26 Jun 3 Jul 10 Jul 17 Jul 24 Jul 31 Jul
Up week Down week
Demand beneath price

Activity pressure and institutional-style signals

These indicators assess whether participation is improving beneath the headline price move. They are supporting evidence, not proof of institutional buying.

Activity pressure path

Latest 0.1212-week average 0.25

12-week confirmation

Trend active0/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure0/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership0/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.12Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals0Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers0No reversal markers

No recent accumulation markers. No reversal markers.

03 · Momentum and leadership

Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?

Performance is -3.9% over four weeks, -5.1% over 12 weeks, and -4.6% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 0 consecutive weeks.

Performance by holding period

1W0.4%
4W-3.9%
12W-5.1%
26W-8.8%
52W-4.6%
Active trend streak0 weeks
Active weeks in one year38
Trend breadth73.1%

Activity pressure vs relative leadership

Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure-0.88Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change-3.1%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership-14.92Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change-21.0%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation

What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it

The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.

Open full factor analysis
Factor week 26 Jul 2026 Financial statements through 31 Mar 2026 Field coverage 97% Model confidence 93%

Relative factor standing

Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.

Overall factor strength20/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 81; rank 1 is best.
Value17/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 84; rank 1 is best.
Quality86/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 15; rank 1 is best.
Momentum25/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 76; rank 1 is best.
Growth8/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 93; rank 1 is best.
How to read this

Quality and valuation are separate questions

A strong company can still carry a demanding valuation. This report shows profitability, growth, balance-sheet strength, and the price paid for those characteristics separately.

Value-quality framework38/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Valuation

How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.

P/E
32.3x
Price divided by trailing earnings.
Price / sales
2.9x
Market value relative to trailing revenue.
EV / EBITDA
18.4x
Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
Free-cash-flow yield
7.9%
Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.

Business quality

Margins and the return generated on invested capital.

Gross margin
34.8%
Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
Operating margin
13.8%
Operating profit retained from revenue.
Free-cash-flow margin
26.2%
Free cash flow generated from revenue.
Return on invested capital
13.2%
Operating return generated on invested capital.

Growth and financial strength

Recent business growth and accounting strength.

Revenue growth
11.5%
Latest one-year revenue growth.
EPS growth
-33.6%
Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
Free-cash-flow growth
8.3%
Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
Piotroski F-score
5/9
Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.

Shareholder return and balance sheet

Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.

Dividend yield
3.2%
Cash dividends relative to market value.
Buyback yield
0.1%
Net share repurchases relative to market value.
Shareholder yield
3.3%
Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
Net debt / EBITDA
2.1x
Balance-sheet debt relative to operating cash earnings.
05 · Ownership, options, and sentiment

What other market participants are doing

Options, insider transactions, market sentiment, and activity-pressure signals can confirm or challenge the price story. None should be used alone.

Options positioningMixed

HSY shows mixed options pressure with a 31/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 1.00, expected move of 3.2%, and Sharemaestro trend signal inactive.

Conviction31/100
Expected move3.2%
Put/call volume1.00
Pressure3
Speculation41
Volatility34
Trend agreement68
Open options detail
Insider activity0 / 20

0 acquisitions and 20 disposals in the latest 180-day insider tape.

Acquisitions / disposals over the latest 180 days. Insider activity is context, not a stand-alone signal.
News sentiment57/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 64 relevant articles.

23 positive · 37 neutral · 4 negative
Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal
06 · Catalysts and risk

What can move the shares—and how volatile the path has been

Event timing, options-implied movement, drawdown, and weekly return distribution frame the risk around the current setup.

Next earnings30 JulLatest stored earnings date was 30 Jul 2026.
Options expected move3.2%Nearest-chain priced movement where available.
52-week drawdown-26.3%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility3.0%Standard deviation of weekly returns.

Weekly gains and losses

Latest 26 completed weeks

Each bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.

Weeks higher11 of 2615 weeks finished lower.
Best week+18.9%Week of 6 Feb.
Worst week-5.0%Week of 19 Jun.
Latest week+0.4%Week of 31 Jul.

Shape of recent returns

Strong gains3
Modest gains8
Flat weeks0
Modest losses9
Sharp losses6
Recent vol3.0%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol4.1%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split24/28Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew3.3% / -2.8%Average positive week versus average negative week.
07 · Sector and peer context

Is this stock leading—or simply moving with its group?

Sector and industry breadth distinguish company-specific strength from a broad group move.

08 · Evidence and weekly data

The underlying research record

Every top-level statement above should be traceable to a stored market, fundamental, event, or positioning observation.

Weekly tape34/100

Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 34/100 tape read.

 Indicator analysis11/100

Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 0/12, activity pressure 0/12, relative leadership 0/12.

Activity pressure 0.12; No reversal markers Factors37/100

O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.

Buyback Yield rank 41 SVQF38/100

Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.

Composite rank 627.0 of 1013 Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal Options50/100

HSY shows mixed options pressure with a 31/100 conviction score, put-call volume ratio of 1.00, expected move of 3.2%, and Sharemaestro trend signal inactive.

Mixed · Options-market disagreement · Expected move 3.2% Sentiment57/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 64 relevant articles.

UBS Adjusts Price Target on Hershey Company to $198 From $190, Maintains Neutral Rating Insiders0 / 20

0 acquisitions and 20 disposals in the latest 180-day insider tape.

 Earnings30 Jul

Latest stored earnings date was 30 Jul 2026.
WeekCloseReturnTrend LineFair ValuePressureLeadershipVolumeTrend
31 Jul 2026175.1 USD0.4%194.9 USD178.8 USD-0.88-14.9210.6MOff
24 Jul 2026174.3 USD1.7%195.0 USD179.0 USD-1.02-14.748.4MOff
17 Jul 2026171.4 USD-1.3%195.3 USD179.3 USD-0.96-16.947.1MOff
10 Jul 2026173.7 USD-4.7%195.8 USD179.6 USD-0.86-17.3711.5MOff
3 Jul 2026182.1 USD1.7%195.9 USD179.9 USD-0.85-12.338.5MOff
26 Jun 2026179.1 USD3.8%195.9 USD180.2 USD-0.87-12.1212.8MOff
19 Jun 2026172.6 USD-5.0%196.1 USD180.5 USD-0.92-17.4313.8MOff
12 Jun 2026181.7 USD-1.6%196.4 USD180.9 USD-0.93-12.6210.5MOff
5 Jun 2026184.6 USD-4.9%196.2 USD181.3 USD-0.93-10.917.9MOff
29 May 2026194.0 USD-0.4%195.6 USD181.6 USD-0.89-8.788.3MOff
22 May 2026194.8 USD4.2%194.7 USD181.9 USD-0.88-7.178.4MOff
15 May 2026187.0 USD1.3%194.0 USD182.2 USD-0.91-10.1210.6MOff
8 May 2026184.5 USD2.0%193.9 USD182.5 USD-0.83-11.189.2MOff
1 May 2026180.9 USD-4.8%194.1 USD182.9 USD-0.70-11.1211.7MOff
How to use this report

This is a completed-week research summary. It explains the available evidence and its conflicts; it does not predict a guaranteed outcome or replace your own risk assessment. Fundamental figures may refer to an earlier financial reporting period, which is shown above.