Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,534 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 934.5% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,933,079.64. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Piper Sandler upgraded Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.05.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $182.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

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.