15,078 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Hershey, buying 15,078 shares valued at about $2.74 million.
• Hershey shares were down 1.9% to $191.04, while the company’s latest earnings beat expectations with $2.35 EPS versus $2.04 estimated and revenue of $3.10 billion.
• Hershey declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, implying an annualized payout of $5.81 and a 3.0% yield, even as analysts maintain a cautious overall Hold rating.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,744,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company's stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $1,070,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company's stock worth $7,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company's stock worth $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $191.04 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $154.37 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $198.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $217.78.

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.

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