IFP Advisors Inc Trims Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 18.7% during the second quarter, leaving them with 6,988 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Hershey, with Bank of America increasing it from $175.00 to $208.00, reflecting a positive sentiment as the stock currently has an average target price of $175.89.
• The company reported earnings of $1.21 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and achieved a revenue of $2.61 billion during the most recent quarter, up 26% year-over-year.

IFP Advisors Inc cut its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,988 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,606 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Callan Family Office LLC grew its position in Hershey by 65.5% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,913 shares of the company's stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Hershey by 1.1% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 402,266 shares of the company's stock worth $66,756,000 after buying an additional 4,484 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.4% during the second quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,434 shares of the company's stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Hershey by 4.0% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,081 shares of the company's stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in Hershey by 2.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,132 shares of the company's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $175.89.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE HSY opened at $192.19 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.17 and a 200-day moving average of $174.16. The firm has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey'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, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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