Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,789 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,206 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. The trade was a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,145,419.69. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 2.5%

HSY opened at $184.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 0.18. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.32.

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.