LifeGuide Financial Advisors LLC Has $484,000 Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

LifeGuide Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 19.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,914 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the quarter. LifeGuide Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $174.05.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $183.77 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.63. The stock has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 72.78%.

Hershey 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.