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How to buy The Hershey Company stock | $141.19
Own The Hershey Company stock in just a few minutes.
The Hershey Company is a confectioners business based in the US. The Hershey Company shares (HSY) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. The Hershey Company employs 14,520 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$7.9 billion.
How to buy shares in The Hershey Company
- Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for The Hershey Company Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: HSY. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until The Hershey Company reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$141.19, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of The Hershey Company, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of The Hershey Company. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.
What's in this guide?
- HSY shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is HSY stock a buy or sell?
- Stock performance over time
- Can I short HSY shares?
- Is HSY suitable for ethical investing?
- Are HSY shares over-valued?
- The Hershey Company's financials
- How volatile are HSY shares?
- Does The Hershey Company pay a dividend?
- Have HSY shares ever split?
- Other common questions
The Hershey Company share price
Use our graph to track the performance of HSY stocks over time.The Hershey Company shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-09-25.
| Latest market close | USD$141.19 |
|---|---|
| 52-week range | USD$109.88 - USD$161.83 |
| 50-day moving average | USD$145.2429 |
| 200-day moving average | USD$137.2993 |
| Wall St. target price | USD$149.31 |
| PE ratio | 26.2896 |
| Dividend yield | USD$3.22 (2.39%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | USD$5.11 |
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Is it a good time to buy The Hershey Company stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.
The Hershey Company price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the close of $141.19 from 2020-09-29
| 1 week (2020-09-24) | 2.56% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-09-01) | -4.87% |
| 3 months (2020-07-01) | 8.51% |
| 6 months (2020-04-01) | 7.24% |
| 1 year (2019-10-01) | -8.84% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2018-10-01) | 38.91% |
| 3 years (2017-09-29) | 29.33% |
| 5 years (2015-10-01) | 53.38% |
Is The Hershey Company under- or over-valued?
Valuing The Hershey Company stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of The Hershey Company's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
The Hershey Company's P/E ratio
The Hershey Company's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 26x. In other words, The Hershey Company shares trade at around 26x recent earnings.
That's comparable to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29).
The Hershey Company's PEG ratio
The Hershey Company's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.0896. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into The Hershey Company's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
The Hershey Company's EBITDA
The Hershey Company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$1.9 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a The Hershey Company's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
The Hershey Company financials
| Revenue TTM | USD$7.9 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 20.1% |
| Gross profit TTM | USD$3.6 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 11.95% |
| Return on equity TTM | 62% |
| Profit margin | 13.5% |
| Book value | $8.432 |
| Market capitalisation | USD$28.6 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Shorting The Hershey Company shares
There are currently 2.6 million The Hershey Company shares held short by investors – that's known as The Hershey Company's "short interest". This figure is 12.3% down from 2.9 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting The Hershey Company shares can be evaluated.
The Hershey Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
The Hershey Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of The Hershey Company shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of The Hershey Company shares traded daily (recently around 831563.5483871). The Hershey Company's SIR currently stands at 3.1. In other words for every 100,000 The Hershey Company shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3100 shares are currently held short.
However The Hershey Company's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of The Hershey Company shares, or, against the total number of tradable The Hershey Company shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case The Hershey Company's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 The Hershey Company shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0197% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable The Hershey Company shares, roughly 20 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against The Hershey Company.
Find out more about how you can short The Hershey Company stock.
The Hershey Company's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like The Hershey Company.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
The Hershey Company's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 27.77
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and The Hershey Company's overall score of 27.77 (as at 08/01/2020) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 43rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like The Hershey Company is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
The Hershey Company's environmental score
Environmental score: 12.73/100
The Hershey Company's environmental score of 12.73 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that The Hershey Company is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
The Hershey Company's social score
Social score: 14.75/100
The Hershey Company's social score of 14.75 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that The Hershey Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
The Hershey Company's governance score
Governance score: 7.29/100
The Hershey Company's governance score puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that The Hershey Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
The Hershey Company's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. The Hershey Company scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that The Hershey Company hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
The Hershey Company was last rated for ESG on: 2020-08-01.
| Total ESG score | 27.77 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 43.18 |
| Environmental score | 12.73 |
| Environmental score percentile | 6 |
| Social score | 14.75 |
| Social score percentile | 6 |
| Governance score | 7.29 |
| Governance score percentile | 6 |
| Level of controversy | 3 |
The Hershey Company share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 60.51% of net profits
Recently The Hershey Company has paid out, on average, around 60.51% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.39% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), The Hershey Company shareholders could enjoy a 2.39% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In The Hershey Company's case, that would currently equate to about $3.22 per share.
The Hershey Company's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.
The Hershey Company's most recent dividend payout was on 15 September 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 20 August 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have The Hershey Company's shares ever split?
The Hershey Company's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 16 June 2004. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your The Hershey Company shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for The Hershey Company shares which in turn could have impacted The Hershey Company's share price.
The Hershey Company share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, The Hershey Company's shares have ranged in value from as little as $109.88 up to $161.83. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while The Hershey Company's is 0.1828. This would suggest that The Hershey Company's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
The Hershey Company overview
The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells confectionery products. The company operates through two segments, North America; and International and Other. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products comprising mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items, including spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites, mixes, popcorn and protein bars, and cookies. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Lancaster, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Scharffen Berger, Dagoba, Ice Breakers, Breathsavers, Bubble Yum, SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty, Oatmega, Paqui, ONE, and Krave brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, Nutrine, Maha Lacto, Jumpin, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
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