Hixon Zuercher LLC Buys 95 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Hixon Zuercher LLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,093 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 173.1% during the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,269,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

HSY stock opened at $179.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $186.83 and its 200 day moving average is $175.58. 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 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $177.67.

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.