Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 984 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,202 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $176.21.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:HSY opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.49 and a 200 day moving average of $175.05. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,080 shares of company stock valued at $7,594,590. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.