Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $329,490.00 in Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hershey Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $219.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,617,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,557. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $234.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $196.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.74.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on HSY

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $224,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. BTS Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $418,000. Finally, St. James Investment Company LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. St. James Investment Company LLC now owns 116,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,282,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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