Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,610 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at about $55,269,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $176.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, 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 have sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $181.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.32.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Hershey Company 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.