Smithfield Trust Co Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,233 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $174.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.50 and a 200 day moving average of $191.28. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.