54,827 Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 627,263 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,827 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.31% of Hershey worth $98,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Hershey by 10.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,395,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,141,000 after buying an additional 127,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,706,000 after buying an additional 19,772 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 315.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,285,000 after buying an additional 822,772 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Hershey from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.81.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $173.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $156.16 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.27 and its 200-day moving average is $188.21.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.72%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.