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

Key Points

• The Hershey Company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, which corresponds to an annualized dividend of $5.48 and a yield of 2.94%.
• Hershey has a current payout ratio of 85.5%, which is expected to decline to 80.2% next year based on anticipated earnings of $6.83 per share.
• Recent insider selling has seen executives Rohit Grover and CFO Steven E. Voskuil sell shares worth significant amounts, with insiders collectively selling 99,021 shares in the last quarter.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 30th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.37 per share on Monday, September 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th.

Hershey has a dividend payout ratio of 85.5% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Analysts expect Hershey to earn $6.83 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 80.2%.

Hershey Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $2.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.70. 2,072,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,214. The stock has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock worth $7,379,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.1% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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.