Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Friedenthal Financial

Key Points

• Friedenthal Financial boosted its stake in Hershey by 38,266.7% in Q4, acquiring 5,740 shares to hold 5,755 shares worth $1.047M, while institutional investors collectively own about 57.96% of HSY and several large funds (First Trust, Envestnet, Nordea) materially increased positions.
• Hershey beat quarterly estimates with $1.71 EPS vs. $1.40 expected and $3.09B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS, and carries an average analyst target of $224.56 with a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81, ~3.0% yield), while insiders sold roughly 10,000 shares (~$2.20M) over the past three months and now own 0.08% of the stock.

Friedenthal Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,755 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company's stock worth $236,183,000 after acquiring an additional 891,287 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,559,000 after buying an additional 605,048 shares during the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,464,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Hershey by 833.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,940,000 after buying an additional 165,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho raised their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.56.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,974,210.99. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $192.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.44, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $216.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.64%.

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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