First Hawaiian Bank Purchases 644 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 644 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Hershey stock opened at $182.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $261.58.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business 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%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $882,405 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.