First Affirmative Financial Network Invests $212,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Hershey stock opened at $185.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $195.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Hershey 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.