Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 312 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE HSY opened at $186.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.62. The stock has a market cap of $37.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,852,320. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $176.11.

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.