Rheos Capital Works Inc. Raises Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for approximately 2.3% of Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Rheos Capital Works Inc. owned about 0.11% of Hershey worth $41,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC increased its position in Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd 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 during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $179.60 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.67. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 81.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.32.

Hershey Company Profile

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.