HBW Advisory Services LLC Has $1.58 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• HBW Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, selling 6,497 shares and holding 9,518 shares valued at $1,580,000.
• Several research firms have upgraded their price targets for Hershey, with Bank of America increasing it from $175.00 to $208.00 and Barclays from $165.00 to $190.00.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

HBW Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 40.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,518 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,497 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $173.89.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:HSY traded up $0.96 on Friday, hitting $190.04. 457,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,771,736. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $38.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.