Econ Financial Services Corp Grows Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Econ Financial Services Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,702 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,864 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for 1.9% of Econ Financial Services Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Econ Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 107.4% in the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.95.

Hershey Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.13 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.29. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $199.00.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.