Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 34.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,327 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 24.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.5% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 130.1% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 52.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $158.34 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $163.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.11. The company has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.05.

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.