Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,919 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.1% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 53.5% during the third quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,414,000 after acquiring an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 38,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,331,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HSY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 4.5 %

HSY stock opened at $170.92 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.78. The stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $170.58 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.