Krilogy Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1,537.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 46.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $222.06 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.04 and a 12 month high of $234.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.42. The firm has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 126.27%.

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.