S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC raised its position in Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the period. William Allan Corp increased its holdings in Hershey by 173.1% during the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on HSY. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $168.83.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on HSY
Hershey Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $2.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.97. 1,289,969 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,904,041. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $175.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Hershey
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Hershey, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Hershey wasn't on the list.
While Hershey currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
MarketBeat All Access