West Tower Group LLC Takes $90,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

by · The Cerbat Gem

West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $248.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Stephens initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $265.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Hershey from $245.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.05.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hershey

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 25th. The stock was 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 $7,413,912. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,413,912. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total value of $35,409.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,027,742.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,682 shares of company stock worth $920,800 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $187.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $183.74 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.41.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 54.74%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $1.192 dividend. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.46%.

About Hershey

(Free Report)

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.

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