Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Invests $3.86 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,856,000. Hershey makes up approximately 1.5% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 20.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $185.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $178.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

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.