Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 113,833.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,762,000 after acquiring an additional 9,475 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 2,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $189.00 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.97.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Company 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.

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