Elevate Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Elevate Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,268 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up about 2.8% of Elevate Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $224,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $271,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Hershey by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Hershey by 895.4% in 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. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.37.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $199.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.21 and a 200-day moving average of $182.46. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $200.50.

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 firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

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.