Wesbanco Bank Inc. Decreases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $168.53 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.26 and its 200 day moving average is $165.77. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

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.