Traders Purchase Large Volume of Hershey Call Options (NYSE:HSY)

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 25,958 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 332% compared to the average daily volume of 6,012 call options.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth $1,337,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in 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 period. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Hershey by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,620,000 after buying an additional 12,832 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 171.8% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 7,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.67 and its 200 day moving average is $188.69. Hershey has a one year low of $168.16 and a one year high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.94.

About Hershey

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.