Corient Private Wealth LP Buys New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 558,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,414,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its stake in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $179.34 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.