Oxbow Advisors LLC Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,887,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $9,566,000. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $856,000. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $675,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $100,434,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $355,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HSY. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the sale, 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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $183.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a PEG 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.62.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. 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.