Shum Financial Group Inc. Makes New $792,000 Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Shum Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 5,086.9% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 21,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after purchasing an additional 20,653 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,183,000 after acquiring an additional 6,426 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 86.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 49,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $2.11 on Tuesday, reaching $173.43. The stock had a trading volume of 112,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,374. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $35.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.73.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. 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.