EA Series Trust Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 22nd, 2023

EA Series Trust bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.6% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.7% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Bank OZK purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $250,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.8% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 87.4% in the second quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. HSBC began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $248.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $270.00 to $245.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.43.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Hershey

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,413,912. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total transaction of $35,409.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,027,742.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,413,912. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,182 shares of company stock valued at $667,450 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $190.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $39.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.31. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $186.63 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $206.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.12. Hershey had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 55.74%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $1.192 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.78%.

Hershey Company Profile

(Free Report)

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, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.