Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock Acquired by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,922 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,263 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its position in Hershey by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.2% during the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Hershey by 10.7% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank set a $173.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $170.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.81.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $173.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.05. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $156.16 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.72%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.