Retirement Guys Formula LLC Has $689,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,070 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Hershey by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in Hershey by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $158.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.11. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price 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. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

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.