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

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 3,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 123.0% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.28.

Hershey Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $183.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.93. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

About Hershey

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.