Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 216.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after buying an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after buying an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after buying an additional 17,311 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $169.86 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.97. The firm has a market cap of $34.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 72.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler raised Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.32.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.