First Financial Bank Trust Division Purchases 10,633 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• First Financial Bank Trust Division acquired 10,633 Hershey shares worth approximately $1.68 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with Hershey carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $204.78.
• Hershey shares rose 1.0% to $159.25, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.90—beating estimates—and declared an annualized dividend of $5.81 per share, yielding 3.6%.

First Financial Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of HSY stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.25. 2,120,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,875,429. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $156.16 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $176.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. Hershey's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's.

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