Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Balyasny Asset Management increased its Hershey stake by 150.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 767,478 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 1,278,881 shares worth about $232.7 million.
• Hershey shares were down 3.7% to $175.73, trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the stock still carries a market cap of about $35.64 billion.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, posting EPS of $2.35 versus $2.04 expected and revenue of $3.10 billion, but analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $218.06.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 150.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,278,881 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 767,478 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up about 0.3% of Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.63% of Hershey worth $232,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company's stock worth $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock worth $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company's stock worth $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock worth $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore raised Hershey from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Hershey Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of HSY opened at $175.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $189.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.51. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $160.07 and a twelve month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

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.

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