Kennon Green & Company LLC Grows Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,389 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up 6.2% of Kennon Green & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $175.89.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $189.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 4.57 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter 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, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

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.