The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,470,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the November 15th total of 7,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during 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 in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.17.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

HSY stock opened at $177.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $179.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.37. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.