Equity Investment Corp Makes New $100.43 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 572,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,434,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

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 value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $183.67 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $177.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.62. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.61.

Hershey 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.