Smith Group Asset Management LLC Takes $678,000 Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $183.53 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.28.

Hershey Company Profile

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.