Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $5.97 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,730 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth approximately $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Hershey by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Hershey is set to report quarterly earnings soon, but UBS said the Q2 print is unlikely to be a meaningful catalyst in either direction, implying limited near-term upside from the report. Hershey Q2 Print Unlikely to Be Meaningful Catalyst, UBS Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentary pieces say Hershey does not currently have a strong setup for an earnings beat, keeping expectations muted ahead of the report. Hershey (HSY) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a Hold rating on HSY, while Stifel cut its price target from $215 to $180 and also moved to Hold, reinforcing a cautious analyst stance. Barclays Sticks to Its Hold Rating for The Hershey Company (HSY)
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent article warned that HSY looks risky after losing ground over the past six months, with shares lagging the broader market, which may be adding to investor caution. 3 Reasons HSY is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.28.

Hershey Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:HSY opened at $172.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $180.59 and its 200-day moving average is $196.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.