Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,493 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 20.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Hershey by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $179.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $179.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $161.43 and a 1 year high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.