Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 31,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $179.34 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.23%.

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.