Citigroup Inc. Buys 339,240 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 173.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 534,567 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339,240 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.26% of Hershey worth $88,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $183.25 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating and issued a $184.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays set a $188.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.