Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.29 EPS

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29, Zacks reports. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. Hershey updated its FY 2025 guidance to 6.000-6.180 EPS.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.51 on Friday, hitting $154.85. 1,052,852 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,043,842. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.81 and its 200 day moving average is $180.78. Hershey has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $31.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.35.

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.