Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $4.77 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey Company by 12.3%, owning 28,767 shares worth $4.77 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Hershey Company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.21 per share and revenue of $2.61 billion, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,767 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,160 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp increased its holdings 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 during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings 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 during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $55,269,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $186.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.05. The stock has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. 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 presently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 40,080 shares of company stock worth $7,594,590. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $176.21.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.