DA Davidson Forecasts Hershey’s FY2025 Earnings (NYSE:HSY)

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hershey in a research note issued on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland now forecasts that the company will earn $5.89 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $6.05. DA Davidson has a “Neutral” rating and a $188.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2026 earnings at $6.40 EPS.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share.

Several other research firms also recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.68.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $188.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.71. 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 has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Hershey by 4.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Hershey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

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.