Two Sigma Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Two Sigma Securities LLC trimmed its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,425 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:HSY opened at $176.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $179.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.54. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Hershey 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.