Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 29,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,478,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $231.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $234.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $201.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.72. The stock has a market cap of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.