Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 7,600 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 7,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $178.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.29 and a 200-day moving average of $198.13. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $160.07 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.