GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 189.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 827 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Hershey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in Hershey by 10.7% in the second quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $167.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.21.

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.