Shum Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 12.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE HSY opened at $182.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $199.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $180.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.28.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey’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, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on HSY shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.95.

Hershey Company 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.