The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 57.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,810 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Hershey by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 46,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,512,000 after buying an additional 3,290 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,955,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Annandale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $717,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.79.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

HSY opened at $150.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $147.60 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

About Hershey

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.