Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 6,694 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,042 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,694 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial grew its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE:HSY opened at $180.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.91. The stock has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.28.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.