Bell Bank Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bell Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 3.6% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.4% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE HSY opened at $213.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $215.54 and a 200-day moving average of $195.39. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.