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

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a 6.0% increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37.

Hershey has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Hershey has a payout ratio of 85.5% 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 $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 Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $18.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $224.00. The stock had a trading volume of 5,699,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,678. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $225.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $45.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.