17,590 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia purchased 17,590 Hershey shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.09 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of HSY.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78; seven analysts rate the stock a Buy versus sixteen Holds.
• Hershey reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $1.90 in EPS and $2.79 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, representing a 3.1% yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,086,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.27. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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