Hershey Company (The) (HSY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.45 on March 16th

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 1.452 per share on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a 6.0% increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37.

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 dividend 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 decline. Equities research analysts expect Hershey to earn $6.83 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 84.9%.

Hershey Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE HSY opened at $222.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $234.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $194.18 and its 200 day moving average is $187.42. The company has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

Hershey Company Profile

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.