Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.61.
Hershey Stock Up 1.4%
Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $183.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $177.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.62. The stock has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hershey Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.23%.
Insider Activity at Hershey
In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.
About Hershey
The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.
Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.
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