Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 100 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,316 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 71.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.56.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $175.67 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $189.17 and a 200 day moving average of $192.17. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $171.67 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.16). Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.