Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Boosted by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,232,595 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 380,512 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $204,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $234,386,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $125,868,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,588,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of HSY opened at $182.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $199.00.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.32.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total transaction of $269,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.