KFG Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,587 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Argus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,014,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,680. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.22. The company has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $251.71. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.