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

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

Hershey Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $6.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.43. 4,117,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,884. The stock has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.97. 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 has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.10.

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.