OLD National Bancorp IN Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,024 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,580,000. TrueMark Investments LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 42,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,863,000 after buying an additional 12,171 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,182,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Hershey Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $176.81 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $160.07 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $35.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $186.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.18. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

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.