Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 2,659 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Hershey Company by 4.8%, acquiring an additional 2,659 shares, bringing its total holdings to 58,078 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Several investment firms have revised their ratings and price targets on Hershey's stock, with Bank of America increasing its target from $175 to $208 and UBS raising it from $192 to $205, indicating overall optimism despite varying ratings.
• Hershey reported financial results that exceeded analyst expectations, with a 26% year-over-year increase in revenue and earnings per share of $1.21, surpassing estimates by $0.23.

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,078 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB's holdings in Hershey were worth $9,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth about $202,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in 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. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 96.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,281 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.3% in the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,608 shares of the company's stock worth $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $176.11.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.88 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $38.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. 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 previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. 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. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,080 shares of company stock valued at $7,594,590. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Hershey

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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