Gries Financial LLC Has $2.20 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Gries Financial LLC increased its position in Hershey Company by **70.7%**, holding shares worth approximately **$2.2 million** after purchasing additional shares.
• Hershey reported **$1.21** earnings per share for the last quarter, outperforming analyst expectations by **$0.23**, and recorded a **26.0%** increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Recent analyst upgrades include Goldman Sachs raising their target price for Hershey from **$170** to **$222**, showing renewed confidence in the stock.

Gries Financial LLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 70.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,272 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,496 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Hershey by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,026 shares of the company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 74,276 shares of the company's stock worth $12,579,000 after acquiring an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $192.48 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $183.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $173.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,627 shares of company stock valued at $16,043,435 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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