Opal Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 30,748 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Opal Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 30,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,596,000. Hershey makes up approximately 1.4% of Opal Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. BTIG Research started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $182.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.09. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $160.07 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.60. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given 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 yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

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.