Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after buying an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $23,675,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $3,182,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $176.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $179.28 and a 200 day moving average of $193.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

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.