Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. Purchases New Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake of 6,611 shares in Hershey during Q4, valued at approximately $1.203 million.
• HSY has an average analyst rating of Hold with an average target price of $225.78, amid several recent downgrades and mixed price-target revisions.
• Hershey increased its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81) for a ~3.0% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is notably high at 133.87%.

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,203,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 32.4% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Hershey by 166.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its position in Hershey by 6.6% during the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,276,000 after purchasing an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Hershey by 6.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $191.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a PE ratio of 44.18, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $215.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,897,940 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Company Profile

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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