On September 24, 2023, it was reported that Xponance Inc., an institutional investor, reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.9% during the second quarter. According to the most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Xponance Inc. owned 28,940 shares of Hershey’s stock after selling 1,497 shares during the period. As of its most recent filing with the SEC, these holdings were valued at $7,226,000.
HSY has recently received attention from several analysts. In a research report released on Friday by HSBC, coverage on Hershey was initiated with a “buy” rating and a price objective of $248.00 for the company’s stock. However, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target from $270.00 to $245.00 in a research report published on July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft also decreased their price target from $264.00 to $262.00 in a report released on July 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a target price of $268.00 for the company in another report published on July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price from $260.00 to $240.00 and assigned an “equal weight” rating for Hershey in a report released on July 28th.
As of Bloomberg data, ten analysts have given the stock a hold rating while eight have issued a buy rating for Hershey’s stock. The consensus rating for the stock is currently “Hold,” with a consensus target price set at $262.10.
On Friday, NYSE:HSY opened at $207.89 per share. The company has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion and a PE ratio of 23.92. The P/E/G ratio is calculated at 2.55, indicating a moderate growth outlook for the company. Hershey’s stock also has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that it is less volatile compared to the overall market. The company’s 50-day simple moving average stands at $222.20, while the two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.78. Additionally, Hershey has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, quick ratio of 0.55, and current ratio of 1.06 – all reflecting its financial health.
Over the past year, Hershey’s stock has experienced a range between $206.69 and $276.88.
Overall, these insights provide an overview of Xponance Inc.’s reduction in Hershey’s holdings, as well as recent analyst reports and key financial statistics for investors to consider when evaluating the performance and potential of The Hershey Company in the market.
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Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Show Interest in Hershey’s Stock as Directors and Major Shareholders Sell Company Shares
Hershey (NYSE:HSY) has attracted the attention of several institutional investors and hedge funds, prompting them to modify their holdings of the company’s stock. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Hershey by 3.1% in the first quarter, now owning 30,767 shares valued at $6,665,000. Dakota Wealth Management also bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in the company by 28.8%, now owning 1,566 shares worth $339,000. Vanguard Group Inc., one of the largest institutional investors, increased its stake in Hershey by 1.6%, bringing their ownership to 14,057,990 shares worth $3,045,383,000. Additionally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position by 10.8%, resulting in ownership of 32,183 shares valued at $6,972,000.
It is noteworthy that these institutional investors and hedge funds currently own approximately 56.47% of Hershey’s stock.
In recent news related to Hershey’s directors and major shareholders’ activities with regards to selling company stock; Director Pamela M. Arway sold 187 shares on July 11th for an average price of $241.66 per share. Following this transaction, Arway retains ownership of 15,529 shares valued at approximately $3,752,738.
Furthermore significant share sales occurred on June 27th when major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 10,292 shares at an average price of $260.43 per share resulting in a total transaction value of around $2,680,o45..
Insiders have sold a total of 26,230 shares amounting to approximately $6,,449,,217 worth of stock within the last quarter. Company insiders currently hold 0.34% of the total company stock.
These recent developments have sparked the interest of analysts, and several reports have been issued on Hershey’s stock. HSBC initiated coverage on the shares with a “buy” rating and a price objective of $248.00 for the company. However, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective from $270.00 to $245.00 in their research report on July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft also lowered their price objective from $264.00 to $262.00 in their report released on July 17th.
On a positive note, BNP Paribas upgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in their report on July 19th.
Wells Fargo & Company had a different perspective as they decreased their target price for Hershey stock from $260 to $240 while giving it an “equal weight” rating in their report published on July 28th.
Overall, ten analysts rate Hershey’s stock as “hold,” while eight others assign it a “buy” rating, resulting in an average consensus target price of approximately $262.10 based on data from Bloomberg.
Turning our attention to earnings results, Hershey last released its quarterly earnings figures on July 27th revealing that the company earned $2.01 per share during the quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $1.89 by $0.12 per share.
Hershey recorded revenue of $2.49 billion in comparison to the consensus estimate which projected revenue at around 2$.$50 billion mark for this quarter.. The company showed growth with a net margin of 16.49% and recorded a return on equity (ROE) figure of 55 .74%. Moreover, this quarter’s revenue increased by about 5.0% when compared to the same quarter in the prior year, and the company’s earnings per share in that quarter were $1.80.
Analysts are projecting that The Hershey Company could report an impressive figure of 9.55 earnings per share for this current year.
Turning our attention to dividends, Hershey recently declared a quarterly dividend which was paid on September 15th. Stockholders of record on August 18th received a dividend of $1.192 per share. This represents an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date for this particular payment was Thursday, August 17th. With this recent increase, the annualized dividend payout stands at approximately $4.77 resulting in a dividend yield of around 2 .29%. It is also important to note that Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) currently stands at around 54.89%.
In conclusion, Hershey has gained the attention of several institutional investors and hedge funds who have modified their holdings in the company’s stock. Furthermore, directors and major shareholders have been active in selling company stock recently. Analysts have issued various reports on Hershey’s stock with a consensus target price of approximately $262 .10.; while
