LRI Investments LLC Grows Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 433.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 304 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $50,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $175.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE HSY opened at $189.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

About Hershey

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.