Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) announced its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33, RTT News reports. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.590-9.590 EPS.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $197.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. Hershey has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $275.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, 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 directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.