Econ Financial Services Corp Has $1.30 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 299.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,678 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 964.3% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 13,567 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 124.0% in the 1st quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 27.1% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 17,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,257,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $197.00 to $192.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.89.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $192.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,097,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,161. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $190.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $235.80.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Hershey Company 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.