GQG Partners LLC Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,766,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,436,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised 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 acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $178.40 and its 200-day moving average is $195.50. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

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.