Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Invests $144,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Hershey Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE HSY opened at $200.83 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $213.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $195.11 and its 200 day moving average is $193.74.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.