Valentine’s Day is the second biggest holiday after Christmas for exchanging greeting cards. It’s also one of the most popular days for marriage proposals. That means consumer discretionary dollars flowed out of wallets and into the economy yesterday. But I’d rather spend my money on dividend stocks that will continue to gift returns year after year, like The Hershey Co. (HSY), says Kelly Green, editor of Dividend Digest.
Americans spent nearly $26 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2023. Over 50 million pounds of chocolate are bought in the seven days prior to February 14. It’s estimated that more than 250 million roses are grown for just this one day. And according to Hallmark, 145 million cards are exchanged. That doesn’t include the little cards exchanged by kids.
In short, there was a lot of money thrown around yesterday. But candies get eaten and flowers die. So, sticking with the spirit of this week’s holiday, I set out to find some related dividend stocks for you to gift to your Valentine instead.
The Hershey Co. (HSY)
I’m from Maryland and have a soft spot for memorable trips to Hersheypark as a kid. So, I started there.
Hershey is the company behind popular candy names like Hershey’s bars, Kisses, Reese’s, Twizzlers, and Jolly Rancher, just to name a few. The company was founded in 1894 based on the iconic Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. Today, it has over 90 brands in its stable of sweets.
In 2023, the company had net sales of over $11 billion. And last week the company announced a 15% dividend increase on its common shares. The $1.37 quarterly payment gave Hershey a yield of just 2.8% at recent prices.
Recommended Action: Consider buying HSY.
