Oxbow Advisors LLC Takes $2.89 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,887,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,566,000. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $856,000. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $675,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $100,434,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $355,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.61.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $183.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.91 and its 200-day moving average is $195.62.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.23%.

Hershey Company 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.