Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 88,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,583,000.
Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.
Hershey Price Performance
NYSE:HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $178.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.50. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.11.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey’s 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, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hershey Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.23%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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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