Hershey Company (The) $HSY Holdings Lifted by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors boosted its Hershey stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9.1 million shares valued at about $1.66 billion. Institutional ownership in Hershey now stands at 57.96%.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.04 estimate and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to post 8.45 EPS for the full year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: several firms cut price targets, and the stock currently carries a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $218.06. Hershey also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, yielding 3.1% annually.

Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,106,431 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 4.49% of Hershey worth $1,657,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $272,506,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 240.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,183,000 after purchasing an additional 891,287 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $44,464,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,137,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,926,000 after acquiring an additional 195,500 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $184.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09. The business's 50 day moving average price is $194.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $160.07 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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