Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $189.40 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $199.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $181.32 and a 200-day moving average of $180.21.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,386,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,559,000 after acquiring an additional 605,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.95.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.