Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $282,765.00 in Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $189.40 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $199.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.46.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.