Wallace Capital Management Inc. Buys 95 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,770 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for about 0.2% of Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,735,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $8,818,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,727,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $156.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.54. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 3.50%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.40.

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.