Here's Why The Hershey Company Is a Wonderful Business | The Motley Fool (2024)

FAQs

Why are people boycotting Hershey? ›

Online critics are making calls to boycott Hershey after a trans woman was included on the chocolate bar's wrappers for its International Women's Day campaign in Canada.

The financial health and growth prospects of HSY, demonstrate its potential to perform inline with the market. It currently has a Growth Score of A. Recent price changes and earnings estimate revisions indicate this would be a good stock for momentum investors with a Momentum Score of A.

Hershey Co is a strong performer in the Confectioners industry, which has an average overall score of 54. This means that, on average, the stocks in this industry score higher than 54% of the stock market.

Hershey, a man with steadfast convictions and an insatiable curiosity, turned his story from rags to riches by persevering, eventually selling his caramel company for $1 million to devote all his energies to making chocolate.

They alleged Hershey's and Mars knowingly imported cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast, a country which uses child labor, even slave labor, and traffics in children.

The Hershey Company main competitors are KRAVE Jerky, General Mills, and Sysco. Competitor Summary. See how The Hershey Company compares to its main competitors: Mondelēz International has the most employees (80,000).

The Hershey Company (HSY)

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) is the only stock on the list that Berkshire doesn't currently own.

Hershey is forecasted to grow earnings and revenue by 1.8% and 1.8% per annum respectively. EPS and ROE are also expected to grow by 1.8% and 47.8% per year respectively. Analyst coverage for Hershey stock is good.

Hershey Co (NYSE: HSY) is owned by 83.39% institutional shareholders, 0.96% Hershey Co insiders, and 15.65% retail investors. Hershey Trust Co is the largest individual Hershey Co shareholder, owning 58.11M shares representing 28.43% of the company. Hershey Trust Co's Hershey Co shares are currently valued at $15.88B.

Notable Dividend: HSY's dividend (1.52%) isn't notable compared to the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.66%). High Dividend: HSY's dividend (1.52%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (4.95%).

Is Hershey in debt? ›

31, 2022.

Over the last 15 years, two significant recessions have occurred: The Great Recession of late 2007 to 2009 and the Covid-19 recession. During this time, Hershey's stock has advanced at a 14% annualized rate compared to 9% for the broader U.S. market. In 2008, when the S&P 500 plunged -38%, Hershey fell just -11%.

Hershey has a leading (and growing) share of the U.S. chocolate market; its portfolio of brands is more popular among Americans than any other company's brands. This enables it to charge higher prices than competitors, which in turn enables it to earn high returns on invested capital. Hershey is not untouchable.

Scientists at the non-profit advocacy organization Consumer Reports have found high levels of cadmium and lead in popular dark chocolate brands sold across the U.S. — two heavy metals linked to a host of health problems in children and adults.

The Hershey Co. is being sued for allegedly failing to disclose the presence of heavy metals in its dark chocolate bars. The Hershey Co. is being sued for allegedly failing to disclose the presence of lead and cadmium in several of its dark chocolate bars.

Perhaps that's why Milton Hershey moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at the ripe age of fourteen to take on an apprenticeship with a confectioner to learn the art of candy making. As you may have already guessed, Milton Hershey was a huge success in the candy-making business after two failed businesses.

Topping the list of is the Snickers bar. No surprise here, Snickers routinely was named number one across the reviews we examined. Fun fact, when it was introduced to the country, Snickers cost nearly four times the amount of your average candy bar.

The difference between the two companies is the products they offer and the taste. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference when choosing between them. Even products that look similar are each made differently. Nestle is a food and drink company that makes chocolate and Hershey is a top chocolate manufacturer.

Did China buy Hershey's? ›

Hershey Buys Chinese Chocolate Company For $584 Million : NPR. Hershey Buys Chinese Chocolate Company For $584 Million The candy company based in Hershey, Pa., bought Shanghai Golden Monkey on Thursday. Hershey may hold the largest share of the U.S. chocolate market, but only a small share of candy sales overseas.

To succeed him Mr. Hershey chose Percy Alexander (P.A.) Staples, a man little known in the Hershey community but who had managed Hershey's Cuban holdings since 1921. P.A.

The cocoa used by our cocoa product suppliers comes from a number of countries, including Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Peru.

With a share of almost 24 percent in 2021, Hershey led the U.S. confectionery market.

Dividend Summary

There are typically 4 dividends per year (excluding specials), and the dividend cover is approximately 1.9. Our premium tools have predicted Hershey Company with 95% accuracy. Sign up for Hershey Company and we'll email you the dividend information when they declare.

Hershey (HSY) has 3 splits in our Hershey stock split history database. The first split for HSY took place on September 16, 1986.

Historical dividend payout and yield for Hershey (HSY) since 1989. The current TTM dividend payout for Hershey (HSY) as of April 24, 2023 is $4.14. The current dividend yield for Hershey as of April 24, 2023 is 1.59%.

Milton Hershey School Trust is currently the largest shareholder, with 29% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.6%.

Hershey's CEO is Michele Buck, appointed in Mar 2017, she has a tenure of 6.1yrs. Her total yearly compensation is US$13.6m, comprised of 9.6% salary and 90.4% bonuses, including company stock and options. She directly owns 0.07% of the company's shares, worth US$37.0m.

One of the most intriguing moments in Milton Hershey's life was his narrow escape from the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Mr. Hershey originally booked passage on the ill-fated passenger liner, but a last-minute change in plans was most likely a decision that saved his life.

Who pays the highest stock dividend? ›

Hershey responds to backlash over Women's Day campaign featuring trans activist. (NEXSTAR) – Hershey has responded to backlash over the decision to highlight the work of a trans activist as part of its International Women's Day promotion, saying that the inclusive campaign “recognize[s] the strength in diversity.”

Health concerns over metals

Additionally, the report states that five of the 23 bars had “high” levels of both cadmium and lead, suggesting that eating them could cause multiple health concerns.

Hersheypark officials say this is an effort to "create more convenient retail and dining experiences for guests." The park accepts all major credit and debit cards as well as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.

A recession is “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.” Industries affected most include retail, restaurants, travel/tourism, leisure/hospitality, service purveyors, real estate, & manufacturing/warehouse.

The best recession stocks include consumer staples, utilities and healthcare companies, all of which produce goods and services that consumers can't do without, no matter how bad the economy gets.

Hershey Company competitors include Mondelez International North America, Nestle USA, Mars and Lindt & Sprüngli. Hershey Company ranks 1st in Product Quality Score on Comparably vs its competitors.

The World's Largest Chocolate and Cocoa Plant, Hershey, PA. Aerial view of the Hershey Chocolate Corporation's factory, world's largest manufacturer of solid chocolate and cocoa products.

Why is Hershey so expensive? ›

According to the company's 2022 financial forecast, it is increasing prices to offset higher ingredient and labor costs. The chocolate company hopes the hike won't hurt sales. The candy maker previously raised prices and customers accepted it. Beloved treats like Reese's and Kit Kats are still going strong.

Switzerland is the country that is responsible for the most amount of chocolate consumed per capita. Even though there are certainly countries across the globe that consume more total chocolate than Switzerland, Switzerland consumes the most chocolate per person.

Leading chocolate manufactures worldwide 2021

The U.S. company Mars Wrigley Confectionery was the top chocolate company in the world in 2021, beating its competitors by more than five billion U.S. dollars in net sales. Ferrero Group and Mondelēz were the next leading chocolate companies worldwide.

Online critics are making calls to boycott Hershey after a trans woman was included on the chocolate bar's wrappers for its International Women's Day campaign in Canada.

The Hershey's Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate was reportedly high in lead, however, other brands including Hershey's owned Lily's and competitors such as Tony's, Godiva and Lindt also allegedly had chocolate products that were also found to contain high levels of either lead of cadmium according to Consumer Reports ...

The Pennsylvania chocolate maker faced social media backlash after changing its popular Hershey's Kisses Christmas bells ad for 2020. The ad debuted in 1989 and has remained essentially the same all these years. The 2020 ad starts out the same, with the Kisses playing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" as a bell choir.

Chocolate manufacturer Hershey has been sued in the US over claims the firm is selling products containing harmful levels of metal. The lawsuit brought by Christopher Lazazzaro alleges the firm misled consumers by failing to disclose the quantities of lead and cadmium in three dark chocolate bars.

What's not subjective is the fact that butyric acid is found in milk, which is in Hershey's chocolate, and that butyric acid can create notes of sourness and tang — which, yes, some sensitive tasters, or those used to European chocolate, could feel is reminiscent of vomit ... where butyric acid also hangs out.

What is the secret ingredient in Hershey's chocolate? ›

Hershey's milk chocolate

The process is a company and trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed. This produces butyric acid, a compound found in substances such as Parmesan cheese which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation.

If you turn the package sideways you'll see it better.

However, there was one that really stood out — turns out that Hershey's world famous Kisses have a secret Kiss hidden right between the "K" and the "I" on the logo. Can you see it? It's a little easier to see if you tilt your head or turn the package.

The case is Lazazzaro v Hershey Co, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 22-07923. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In 1928, Hoffman and Company of Chicago tried to manufacture a spherical, chocolate-covered caramel candy. Because they were unsuccessful in achieving the spherical shape, the candies were called "duds". This inspired the candy's name, "Milk Duds".

Hershey stopped smelling of chocolate the day production was stopped. Most of the production was shifted to the recently expanded West Hershey plant - originally built in 1991 - not Mexico. Employees were given the option of early retirement, and those with seniority could choose to work at the West Hershey plant.

Hershey Buys Chinese Chocolate Company For $584 Million : NPR. Hershey Buys Chinese Chocolate Company For $584 Million The candy company based in Hershey, Pa., bought Shanghai Golden Monkey on Thursday. Hershey may hold the largest share of the U.S. chocolate market, but only a small share of candy sales overseas.

study found that dark chocolate had, on average, 7.6 micrograms of cadmium and 0.8 micrograms of lead per one-ounce serving, and some products had three or four times as much. (Milk chocolate, which contains less cocoa, had much lower concentrations.)

Friis-Holm Chokolade (Denmark) was the most awarded with 16 prizes, including 7 silvers and 9 bronzes. Other multi-award-winners this year included: Fu Wan Chocolate (Taiwan) with 11 prizes, Kasama Chocolate (Canada) 10 prizes, Fjåk Chocolate (Norway) 10 prizes. One of the highest scores went to Mary Chocolate Co.

Milk is what makes HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate so creamy and smooth, bringing out the potential of every other ingredient it touches. It also holds a special place in our heart. True to our roots, we continue to use farm fresh milk from within 100 miles of Hershey, PA, in many of our products.

It turns out, however, that Americans might be alone in their affinity for Hershey's chocolate. Europeans tend, to put it lightly, not be the biggest fans of the confection, in fact, some abhor the supposedly sweet treat.