The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. cut its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,052,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,108. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $194.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

About Hershey

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.