Westpac Banking Corp Invests $786,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after buying an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.50. The stock has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.