The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Short Interest Down 6.7% in December

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) saw a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, a decrease of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 7,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $46,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:HSY traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $152.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,937,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,500. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Hershey has a twelve month low of $150.31 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.39.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

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.