Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Hershey worth $44,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,021,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. &PARTNERS lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 19,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,063,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $182.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $160.07 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $190.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.60. The company has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.09.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

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.