The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Boosted by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 46.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,244 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Hershey were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance grew its position in Hershey by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1,263.3% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,332,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,267,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,850,712. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $227.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.24 and a 200-day moving average of $193.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.50.

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; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.