Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock: Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,645 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,446 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 126.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after buying an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 125.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,447,000 after buying an additional 109,418 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,664,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,871,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,182,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.44.

Hershey Trading Down 1.0%

Hershey stock opened at $167.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $172.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. Hershey Company has a one year low of $156.16 and a one year high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.4520 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.23%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels.