Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Hershey Company by 53.6%, now owning 2,056 shares valued at $352,000.
• Analysts have varying perspectives on Hershey’s stock, with a current consensus price target of $169.68 and multiple upgrades from institutions.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, yielding around 3.0%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,056 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,374 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,618,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Hershey by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Hershey by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,350,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 17,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

HSY traded down $3.29 on Friday, hitting $184.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,655,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,238. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.42. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

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.