Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its Hershey stake by 12.7% in the first quarter, selling 48,379 shares and leaving it with 331,296 shares valued at about $68.9 million.
• Hershey reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.04 and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• The stock has been under pressure and analysts are mixed: Hershey shares recently traded at $171.50, below both its 50-day and 200-day averages, while the consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $212.56.

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,296 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,379 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Hershey worth $68,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company's stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $171.50 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.24. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. 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 (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was 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 on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Hershey from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised Hershey to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Seven equities 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $212.56.

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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