Equity Investment Corp Grows Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 564,201 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares during the period. Hershey comprises approximately 2.1% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.28% of Hershey worth $102,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 2.7%

HSY stock opened at $181.34 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.72. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Hershey Company 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.