Sage Capital Advisors llc Increases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the third quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.7% in the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.90.

Hershey Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE HSY opened at $187.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.71. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $37.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results 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). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.