Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 32.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,971 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,195 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth $224,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $271,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Hershey by 895.4% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 25,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after buying an additional 22,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $505,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $189.08 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.42 and a 200 day moving average of $181.96. The stock has a market cap of $38.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 0.18. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Argus upgraded Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.