Commerce Bank Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,781,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.67 and a 200-day moving average of $195.27. The company has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

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.