Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Acquires New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Cim LLC increased its position in Hershey by 6.8% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,031,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 8,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 319.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 12,247 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 85,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,661,000 after buying an additional 6,420 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.63.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $191.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $196.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.94. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.