Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Hershey Company by 5.4% in Q2, now owning 108,495 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Fulton Bank and Ignite Planners LLC, have also recently increased their holdings in Hershey, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Hershey reported a 26% increase in quarterly revenue and set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between 5.809 and 5.997, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,495 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,571 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.05% of Hershey worth $18,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Hershey by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Hershey by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in Hershey by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $175.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $189.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.16 and a 200 day moving average of $174.40. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.