Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,760 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,742,000 after acquiring an additional 9,053 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Hershey by 2.9% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 15.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:HSY opened at $172.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $184.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.18. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.