The Hershey Company (HSY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.37 on March 14th

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 1.37 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th.

Hershey has raised its dividend payment by an average of 17.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Hershey has a dividend payout ratio of 70.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Hershey to earn $7.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 72.7%.

Hershey Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.98. 2,394,691 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,099,844. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.81 and a 200-day moving average of $180.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Hershey has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% 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.