Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Takes $1.02 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $174.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.79. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48. 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 capitalization of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.28.

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.