Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 6,141 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $2,303,889,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Hershey by 546.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,439,000 after buying an additional 893,940 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Hershey by 315.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Hershey by 150.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,731,000 after acquiring an additional 767,478 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:HSY opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

About Hershey

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.