The Hershey Company Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.37 (NYSE:HSY)

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%.

Hershey has raised its dividend payment by an average of 17.1% annually over the last three years and has raised 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. Research 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 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $145.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $165.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.97. Hershey has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.10.

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.