Donald L. Hagan LLC Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Donald L. Hagan LLC has acquired a new stake in Hershey Company, purchasing 7,505 shares valued at approximately $1,245,000 during the second quarter.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their holdings in Hershey, with institutional investors now owning 57.96% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have raised Hershey's stock rating, with Goldman Sachs upgrading it from "sell" to "buy" and increasing their price target from $170.00 to $222.00.

Donald L. Hagan LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 329,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,407,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 113,833.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 51.6% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 9,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $187.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50 day moving average is $185.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

About Hershey

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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