Allstate Corp Purchases New Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the second 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. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $821,445 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $196.02 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.87 and a 200 day moving average of $183.34. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $201.86.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders 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 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HSY. TD Cowen reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 target price on Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price target on Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $211.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.53.

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.