Sone Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 156,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,533,000. Hershey makes up about 2.1% of Sone Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Sone Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Hershey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Hershey Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $189.92 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.23%.

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.