Nykredit A S Buys New Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S bought 68,844 Hershey shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $12.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.96% of the company.
• Hershey reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, exceeding the $1.43 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $2.79 billion. The company pays an annualized dividend of $5.81 per share, yielding about 3.4%.
• HSY shares recently traded at $169.95, below the average analyst price target of $204.78. Despite six Buy ratings, 16 analysts rate the stock Hold, resulting in an overall “Hold” consensus.

Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 68,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,079,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi grew its stake in Hershey by 21.9% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,040,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,522,000 after acquiring an additional 186,768 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $8,895,000. VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $314,000. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $1,951,000. Finally, Varenne Capital Partners bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,283,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.95 on Monday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $177.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.63. The company has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.Hershey's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $204.78.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, salty snacks and pantry products sold under brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's.

Milton S. Hershey founded the company in 1894, and its milk chocolate business helped establish Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a center of American chocolate production. The company has expanded beyond its original chocolate offerings through product development, licensing arrangements and acquisitions in the confectionery and snack categories.

Hershey serves consumers primarily in the United States and Canada and markets its products internationally through retail, e-commerce and other distribution channels.

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