Procyon Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,581 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC purchased 1,581 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $262,000, during Q2.
• Hershey's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting $1.21 EPS against a consensus of $0.98, with revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $5.48 and a yield of 2.9%.

Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $190.03 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $182.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,627 shares of company stock worth $16,043,435 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $173.89.

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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