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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,430 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,074 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A increased its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hershey by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.40.

Hershey Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE HSY opened at $163.78 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $209.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

About Hershey

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.

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