KFG Wealth Management LLC Has $698,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,587 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $183.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,014,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $251.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

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.