Kirk Tanner Buys 2,000 Shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $188.39 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.31. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $38.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth $10,235,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 14,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $387,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 5,025 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.