Railway Pension Investments Ltd Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 226,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,600 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $44,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Hershey stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,235,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,185. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $233.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.72. The company has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.50.

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.