Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 126.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.06.

Hershey Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE HSY opened at $175.32 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.57. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.29 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $35.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

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.