Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Sells 319 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parthenon LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 4.3 %

HSY stock opened at $171.02 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $160.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

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.