National Bank of Canada FI Has $18.13 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,433 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $18,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.06.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $198.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Hershey Profile

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.