The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,010,000 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the August 15th total of 7,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $199.28 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $195.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.91. The company has a market cap of $40.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. Hershey has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $213.72.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hershey will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

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.