Journey Advisory Group LLC Invests $209,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Journey Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $55,269,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.05. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $176.21.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,080 shares of company stock worth $7,594,590. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.