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

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th.

Hershey has increased its dividend by an average of 17.1% per year over the last three years and has raised 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. Equities research analysts expect Hershey to earn $7.72 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 71.0%.

Hershey Stock Down 0.6 %

HSY stock opened at $157.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.86. Hershey has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

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 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

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.