Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $202,000 Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Hershey were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hershey by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,536,000 after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $179.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.65. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $177.67.

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.