Westpac Banking Corp Buys Shares of 4,481 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 237.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,675,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.40 and a 200-day moving average of $195.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The business 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%. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

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.