Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.45

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.452 per share on Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th.

Hershey has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Hershey has a payout ratio of 90.5% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Hershey to earn $9.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.2%.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of HSY traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $185.79. 3,182,609 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,014,027. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.66 billion, a PE ratio of 42.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.90 and a 200-day moving average of $196.76. Hershey has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hershey will post 8.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 32.4% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial boosted its stake in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 166.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.6% during the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,276,000 after buying an additional 7,064 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after buying an additional 5,239 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.