Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Hershey position by 4,450% in the second quarter, owning 238,282 shares worth approximately $41.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of HSY.
• Hershey reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, beating the $1.43 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.79 billion and rose 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $203.61. Hershey also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equating to a 3.2% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4,450.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 238,282 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 233,045 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.12% of Hershey worth $41,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.61.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of HSY opened at $182.20 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $177.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.10. The company has a market cap of $36.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period 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, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company'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 transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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