Kerusso Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 116.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,919 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,554 shares during the period. Hershey makes up approximately 1.7% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $157.99 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $162.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.