The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,821 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,134 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position 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. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of HSY opened at $177.48 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $176.78 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.52. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.