Insider Selling: Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,524,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,752,927. The firm has a market cap of $38.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $181.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.02. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $199.00. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.95.

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.