Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 2,891 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 47.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,927 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Hershey by 260.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 23,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after buying an additional 16,768 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Hershey by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 179,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,874,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $680,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $183.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.22. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Argus cut their price target on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.