Sage Capital Advisors llc Grows Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,538 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in Hershey by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 46,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,910,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Hershey by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Hershey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 143,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $161.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.04 and a 200 day moving average of $166.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.15.

About Hershey

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.