Steven Voskuil Sells 1,500 Shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hershey Stock Up 0.7%

Hershey stock opened at $221.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $234.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,332,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,401,000 after purchasing an additional 75,258 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 80,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,663,000 after purchasing an additional 44,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $368,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hershey

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.