The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by E&G Advisors LP

E&G Advisors LP lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HSY traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,014,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $251.71. The stock has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.11 and its 200 day moving average is $192.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Hershey 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.