Hershey (HSY) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Friday, May 3rd. Analysts expect Hershey to post earnings of $2.72 per share for the quarter. Hershey has set its FY24 guidance at $9.59 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 9.590-9.590 EPS.Persons interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect Hershey to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $187.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.84 and its 200-day moving average is $190.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Hershey has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

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.