Busey Bank Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 647 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $182.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.88. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.55.

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.