Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 156,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,000. Hershey makes up approximately 2.1% of Sone Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after buying an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $23,675,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hershey Stock Up 1.9%
NYSE HSY opened at $189.92 on Tuesday. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.40.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.
Hershey Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.23%.
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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