The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the November 15th total of 2,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.
Insider Transactions at Hershey
In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,413,912. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total transaction of $35,409.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,742.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,413,912. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,682 shares of company stock worth $920,800 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 139.3% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,525.5% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 39,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,835,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at $556,000. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 203.3% during the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. 56.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Hershey Stock Performance
Shares of HSY opened at $181.71 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $189.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.27. Hershey has a 12-month low of $181.47 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.63.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 17.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th were paid a $1.192 dividend. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 51.35%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $213.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.81.
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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.