Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Trims Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 71.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,772 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,080 shares of company stock worth $7,594,590. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $186.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.05.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $176.21.

Hershey Company Profile

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.