Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,610 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $176.83.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. 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 on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $181.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 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 Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.32.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.