Suncoast Equity Management Raises Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Suncoast Equity Management increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,005 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Hershey comprises about 0.3% of Suncoast Equity Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Members Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 1,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $143,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Hershey by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Hershey by 574.9% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 15,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 13,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.81.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 631,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,732. The stock has a market cap of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company 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.