Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Invests $558,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.40.

Hershey Stock Down 3.2%

Hershey stock opened at $158.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.84. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $209.65.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 3.46%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.