Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $206,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after buying an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $183.47 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $193.41 and a 200-day moving average of $192.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. UBS Group downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.50.

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.