Steven Voskuil Sells 1,500 Shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $191.19 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $201.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.18. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.50.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey’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, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 32.4% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth $271,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Hershey by 4.8% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,276,000 after buying an additional 7,064 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.