Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Purchased by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Liberty One Investment Management increased its Hershey stake by 30.3% in the first quarter, buying 6,689 additional shares and bringing its total to 28,730 shares worth about $5.97 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 57.96% of Hershey shares held by institutions and hedge funds, and several other funds also significantly boosted their positions recently.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $208.28, while some firms have trimmed targets or maintained Hold ratings ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report.

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,730 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,689 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $5,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Hershey by 546.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company's stock worth $192,439,000 after acquiring an additional 893,940 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 315.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company's stock worth $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Hershey by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company's stock worth $232,731,000 after acquiring an additional 767,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 4,478.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,666,000 after acquiring an additional 573,339 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $208.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $172.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.94. The stock has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Key Headlines Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Hershey is set to report quarterly earnings soon, but UBS said the Q2 print is unlikely to be a meaningful catalyst in either direction, implying limited near-term upside from the report. Hershey Q2 Print Unlikely to Be Meaningful Catalyst, UBS Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentary pieces say Hershey does not currently have a strong setup for an earnings beat, keeping expectations muted ahead of the report. Hershey (HSY) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a Hold rating on HSY, while Stifel cut its price target from $215 to $180 and also moved to Hold, reinforcing a cautious analyst stance. Barclays Sticks to Its Hold Rating for The Hershey Company (HSY)
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent article warned that HSY looks risky after losing ground over the past six months, with shares lagging the broader market, which may be adding to investor caution. 3 Reasons HSY is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

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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