The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY – Get Rating) was the target of significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,110,000 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the May 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. StockNews.com upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $ 214.00 to $ 237.00 in a research report on Friday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $ 210.00 to $ 218.00 in a research note on Friday, April 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, March 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $ 226.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $ 200.00 to $ 210.00 in a report on Friday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $ 219.00.
HSY opened at $ 206.03 on Friday. Hershey has a 12 month low of $ 167.80 and a 12 month high of $ 231.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $ 313.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $ 217.72 and a 200 day moving average of $ 206.26.
Hershey (NYSE: HSY – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $ 2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $ 2.10 by $ 0.43. Hershey had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 61.65%. The company had revenue of $ 2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $ 2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $ 1.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 20th were paid a $ 0.901 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 19th. This represents a $ 3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.27%.
In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 530 shares of the company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $ 209.06, for a total value of $ 110,801.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $ 221.95, for a total value of $ 1,109,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $ 43,403,432.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,503 shares of company stock worth $ 3,602,455 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $ 231,591,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Hershey by 2,693.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company stock worth $ 237,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,559 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 21,654.4% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,030,942 shares of the company stock worth $ 4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,203 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,241,519 shares of the company stock valued at $ 485,580,000 after buying an additional 644,294 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 65.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,477,714 shares of the company stock valued at $ 320,117,000 after buying an additional 584,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.96% of the company stock.
Hershey Company Profile: (Get Rating)
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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and protein bars.
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