Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16,495.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,042 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,867 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 76,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,065,000 after acquiring an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 16.9% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.74.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $188.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $183.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.31.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.91%.

About Hershey

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.