Insider Selling: The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $183.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $37.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $261.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.29.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $29,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.