The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,833 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank raised its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $160.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.