26,800 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Clough Capital Partners L P

Key Points

• Clough Capital Partners L P purchased 26,800 shares of Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY), valued at approximately $4,584,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Hershey reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue of $2.61 billion—up 26.0% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share with a yield of 3.0%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,584,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE HSY traded up $1.96 on Tuesday, reaching $185.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,190,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,586. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $177.65 and its 200 day moving average is $170.66. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.