Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.33 EPS

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Hershey updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.590-9.590 EPS.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,396,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $191.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.76. Hershey has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $275.89.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on HSY shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.