Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Woodstock Corp

Key Points

• Woodstock Corp increased its stake in Hershey Company by 38.2% during the second quarter, owning 18,062 shares valued at nearly $2.997 million.
• Hershey recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.98, with revenue increasing 26.0% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.0% based on a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Woodstock Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 38.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,062 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,990 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $55,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:HSY opened at $185.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.55 and a 200-day moving average of $171.79. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. 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 (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,852,320. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Company 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.

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