Equity Investment Corp Invests $73.71 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 444,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,706,000. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.22% of Hershey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Hershey by 147.9% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 12,887 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.9% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 133.2% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating and issued a $184.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.21.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction 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 $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $166.01 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.02. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current 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 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.