Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,836 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 60.8% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 20,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 7,835 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Hershey by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 45,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,790,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $184.30 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. 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 company has a market cap of $37.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.39.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Hershey 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.