Hershey Company (The) $HSY is Kennon Green & Company LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,389 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises 6.2% of Kennon Green & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $175.89.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:HSY opened at $189.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $186.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.40. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.28% of the stock is 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.