Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its stakes in Hershey Company by 39.7% during the first quarter, now holding shares worth $1.86 million.
• Several brokerages raised their price targets for Hershey, with Mizuho setting it at $165 and Barclays at $190, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold" with a target of $169.68.
• Hershey reported strong quarterly earnings with a net margin of 13.54% and a revenue growth of 26% year-over-year, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 39.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,859 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for about 1.3% of Harvest Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 18.4% during the first quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,737 shares of the company's stock worth $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $279,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.3% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 98,835 shares of the company's stock worth $16,904,000 after purchasing an additional 7,602 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.8% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 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 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $176.31. 1,447,244 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,959,718. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.27. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $174.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.78. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.68.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.