GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $684,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $1,016,000. Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Hershey by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 30,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,361,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of HSY opened at $189.04 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.61.

Hershey 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.