Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 3,425 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in Hershey by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 85,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,540,000 after purchasing an additional 10,233 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $184.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.89. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.