Radnor Capital Management LLC Purchases 175 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,422 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.09 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $194.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.30. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $261.58. The company has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus cut their price objective on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

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.