nVerses Capital LLC Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1,600.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $183.56. 231,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,683,798. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.