SPC Financial Inc. Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,380 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after buying an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after acquiring an additional 17,890 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $5,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $191.75 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.95.

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 business 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 company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.63.

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.