The Hershey Company to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.34 Per Share, DA Davidson Forecasts (NYSE:HSY)

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for Hershey in a research report issued on Monday, May 6th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland expects that the company will post earnings of $1.34 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $9.60 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2024 earnings at $9.63 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.75 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.06.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $198.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $192.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.85. Hershey has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 6.9% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 82.9% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 1,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 263,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,293,000 after buying an additional 49,477 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.