Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 1.7%

HSY opened at $181.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $177.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven equities research 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey 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.