Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stake Increased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 21.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,922 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $274,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,706,000 after purchasing an additional 19,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 11.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank set a $173.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $178.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. DA Davidson set a $170.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.81.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $173.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.24. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.05. The company has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.08.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.72%.

About Hershey

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.