Schulhoff & Co. Inc. Acquires 925 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Schulhoff & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,631 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 925 shares during the quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its stake in Hershey by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after buying an additional 17,890 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $972,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $5,383,000. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.9% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after acquiring an additional 4,854 shares during the period. 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 the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

HSY stock opened at $200.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $213.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.69. The company has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.