Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $513,000 Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in the Hershey Company, purchasing 3,000 shares valued at approximately $513,000 in the first quarter.
• Recently, Hershey reported stellar earnings of $1.21 per share, surpassing estimates and showing a significant 26% increase in revenue Year-over-Year.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, with a yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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 Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $185.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,209,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,707. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $177.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.76. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $170.83.

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.