Geneva Partners LLC Buys New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Geneva Partners LLC opened a new position in Hershey during the first quarter, buying 12,932 shares valued at about $2.69 million. The stake represents 1.3% of Geneva Partners’ holdings and is its 26th-largest position.
• Hershey’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.04 consensus and revenue of $3.10 billion versus estimates of $3.03 billion. Quarterly revenue also rose 10.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $217.50. The stock was trading at $175.98, while Hershey also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, yielding 3.3%.

Geneva Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,688,000. Hershey accounts for 1.3% of Geneva Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 20.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,975,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Hershey from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $217.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $175.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $184.43 and a 200-day moving average of $197.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hershey Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.