15,078 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,744,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $1,070,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $191.04 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $154.37 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $198.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.07.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.78.

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.