Aurora Investment Counsel Decreases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Aurora Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 297.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after acquiring an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,123,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 3,404.3% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,879,000 after acquiring an additional 249,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,194.0% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 249,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,837,000 after purchasing an additional 230,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.63.

Hershey Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $191.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.