Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Buys Shares of 12,500 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $189.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.61. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.61.

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.