CORDA Investment Management LLC. Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 19.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,259 shares during the quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $374,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,633,000 after buying an additional 50,014 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 167,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,663,000 after buying an additional 28,051 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE HSY opened at $179.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.53. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $176.78 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HSY. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.61.

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.