Zacks Research Weighs in on Hershey's Q3 Earnings (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Analysts at Zacks Research have lowered their Q3 2025 EPS estimate for Hershey to $1.26, down from $1.48, while the full-year earnings estimate remains at $6.12 per share.
• Hershey's CEO, Michele Buck, sold over 31,000 shares recently, indicating a 13.88% decrease in her ownership of the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing a 3.1% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Hershey in a report released on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will earn $1.26 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Hershey's current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hershey's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.41 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.96 EPS.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS.

HSY has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.1160 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $181.4760. The stock had a trading volume of 1,110,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,641,025. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $176.26 and its 200 day moving average is $169.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at $250,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.3% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 24,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,118,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 11.2% in the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 12,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,123,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Hershey by 347.9% in the second quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 37,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,302,000 after buying an additional 29,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% 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.