Bayforest Capital Ltd Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Hershey Company by 401.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 3,378 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,220 shares valued at $722,000.
• Hershey's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.21, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.23, with revenue growth of 26.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.9%, payable on September 15th to shareholders recorded by August 15th.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 401.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,220 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Hershey were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $184.95. 871,541 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,781,221. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.35 and a 200 day moving average of $171.70. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $171.22.

Hershey Profile

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.