Cvfg LLC Acquires New Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 17,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 833.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after buying an additional 165,458 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9%

HSY stock opened at $175.98 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $160.07 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.93.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.50.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.