The stock could benefit from another round of analyst upgrades, too
The shares of Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY) are down 1% at $159.44 this afternoon, after hitting a fresh annual high of $161.71 during the previous session. The security has been climbing higher on the charts since pulling back to the $143 level earlier this month, guided by support from the 10-day moving average. Additionally, Hershey stock has added 23.2% in the past nine months, and a historically bullish signal now flashing may catapult the security to new record highs.
Specifically, the equity's latest peak comes amid historically low implied volatility (IV), which has been a bullish combination for Hershey stock in the past. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, there have been another two times in the past five years when the security was trading within 2% of its 52-week high, while its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) stood in the 20th percentile of its annual range or lower. This is now the case with HSY's SVI of 18%, which sits in the sixth percentile of its 12-month range.
White's data shows that a month after these signals, the security was higher, averaging a 6.6% return for that time period. From its current perch, a move of similar magnitude would put HSY at a brand-new all-time high of $169.96.
While the brokerage bunch leans mostly optimistic towards the security, there is still some room for upgrades moving forward, which would push shares higher. Of the 13 analysts in question, six carried a tepid "hold" rating, while seven said "buy" or better.