Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Takes $4.12 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Greenwood Capital Associates disclosed a new position in Hershey during the first quarter, buying 19,818 shares valued at about $4.12 million.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.04 and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: analysts have a consensus Hold rating on HSY, with a consensus price target of $217.50, while the stock recently traded at $174.44.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 19,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,120,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore upgraded shares of Hershey from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $217.50.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $174.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $160.07 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

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.

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