Skopos Labs Inc. Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Skopos Labs Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded down $4.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $197.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,880,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,444. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $882,405 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

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.