Cinctive Capital Management LP Makes New $1.05 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $44,464,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.5% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 9,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Hershey by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,605,000 after buying an additional 52,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Hershey by 14.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 20,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after buying an additional 2,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.68.

Hershey News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 outperformance and continuing guidance support: Analysts and sector write-ups highlighted Hershey’s strong Q4 performance within the shelf-stable foods group (revenue and EPS beats and FY26 guidance noted earlier this season), which underpins the bullish sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift: Morgan Stanley raised Hershey’s price target (reported coverage) and has a more constructive stance, increasing upside expectations — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity tailwind for margins: Morgan Stanley’s sector note boosting Mondelez to top pick cites cocoa deflation — the same cocoa-price trend benefits Hershey by easing input-cost pressure and improving margin outlook across the industry. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic portfolio repositioning: Hershey began operating under a unified sweet/salty/protein portfolio structure aimed at clearer go-to-market focus and growth across faster segments — investors view this as supportive for organic growth and cross-selling. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sustainability / supply-chain collaboration: Hershey joined competitors on the TogetherCocoa initiative, a cooperative effort to address cocoa supply-chain resilience and sustainability — positive for long-term ingredient security and ESG positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational streamlining in the U.S.: Company plans to streamline U.S. businesses (potentially lowering costs), but details on charges, savings and timelines are limited — a watch item for near-term restructuring costs vs. long-term savings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive dividend narrative: Coverage labeling Hershey a “dividend monster” reinforces its defensive, income-oriented appeal to investors but is unlikely to trigger large re-ratings by itself. Read More.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total value of $329,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

HSY opened at $219.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.70. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

About Hershey

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.