Short Interest in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Grows By 18.3%

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,570,000 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the July 15th total of 4,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,038 shares of company stock worth $974,603 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 1,263.3% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,332,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of HSY stock traded down $1.79 on Friday, reaching $193.49. 2,330,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,839,756. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $221.27. The stock has a market cap of $39.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.25.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.47.

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.