Haverford Trust Co Buys Shares of 6,635 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Haverford Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,164,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.78.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related 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 transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.40 and its 200 day moving average is $195.50. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 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 company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s 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. Research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.37%.

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.