Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Invests $807,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.40.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $155.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.01. The stock has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

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.