Equity Investment Corp Acquires 54,827 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 627,263 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,827 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $98,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $173.81 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $156.16 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.08.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $178.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.81.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.