Norges Bank Makes New $272.51 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Hershey, buying about 1.5 million shares valued at roughly $272.5 million in the fourth quarter.
• Hershey’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings of $2.35 per share on $3.10 billion in revenue, and revenue rose 10.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.2%, even as its stock traded below recent moving averages and analysts kept a cautious overall stance.

Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,497,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $272,506,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.74% of Hershey as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock worth $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock worth $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock worth $876,434,000 after buying an additional 104,024 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hershey by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company's stock worth $301,947,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Hershey by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company's stock worth $300,333,000 after buying an additional 101,305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $184.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $196.96 and a 200 day moving average of $198.76. The company has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $158.67 and a 12-month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stephens boosted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.06.

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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