PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 52,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,633,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $272,506,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the period. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,464,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,137,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,926,000 after buying an additional 195,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9%

Hershey stock opened at $184.42 on Friday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $160.07 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.75. The company has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Company Profile

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.