Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $282,765.00 in Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $189.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,524,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,752,927. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $199.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.19.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 694.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,782,000 after acquiring an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 8,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.