Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 7,500 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds increased its stake in Hershey (HSY) by 44.1%, buying 7,500 shares to hold 24,500 shares valued at about $4.58 million at quarter end.
• Other large investors — including Norges Bank and Balyasny — made sizeable moves (Envestnet and Holocene materially raised stakes), leaving institutional ownership at 57.96%, while company insiders sold 10,000 shares in the last quarter.
• Hershey beat quarterly estimates with EPS $1.71 vs. $1.40 and revenue of $3.09B (+7% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81, 2.6% yield) and set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS.

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $234,386,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Hershey by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,232,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,549,000 after purchasing an additional 380,512 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.7% in the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 534,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,711,000 after purchasing an additional 339,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $222.86 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $207.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.42. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This is a positive change from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.21.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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