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

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%.

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 payout ratio of 70.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $152.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.97. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. On average, analysts expect that Hershey will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.10.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Company 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.