Skba Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Skba Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 19.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,330 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,150 shares during the period. Hershey makes up about 1.9% of Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,540,000 after buying an additional 56,675 shares in the last quarter. BTS Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. BTS Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 35,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,609,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,428,000. Finally, Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 64,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,109,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.21.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE HSY opened at $234.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.03, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey 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.