The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) to Issue $1.37 Quarterly Dividend

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid 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 is Friday, February 14th.

Hershey has raised its dividend by an average of 17.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Hershey has a dividend payout ratio of 70.4% indicating that 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 Price Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,394,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,099,844. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. Hershey has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.