Dean Capital Management Invests $2.87 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Dean Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,867,000. Hershey makes up approximately 1.2% of Dean Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its stake in Hershey by 237.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial grew its stake in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.28.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $174.43 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.90.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.