Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,278 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $181.65 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.80 and a 200-day moving average of $175.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $176.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.