Hershey (HSY) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Friday, May 3rd. Analysts expect Hershey to post earnings of $2.72 per share for the quarter. Hershey has set its FY24 guidance at $9.59 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 9.590-9.590 EPS.Individual that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Hershey to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $193.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.66. Hershey has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.