Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,748 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parthenon LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $170.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $162.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.17. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.