Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 36,930 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,129,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 29,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Hershey by 59.4% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 65,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,842,000 after buying an additional 24,339 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 231,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,455,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 3.4% in the second quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 21,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “mixed” rating and set a $184.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler raised Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $172.70 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.18. The company has a market capitalization of $35.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, 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 Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Hershey 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.