Research Analysts Offer Predictions for The Hershey Company’s Q4 2024 Earnings (NYSE:HSY)

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hershey in a research report issued on Thursday, May 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Mohta now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $2.30 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.37. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $9.60 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2025 earnings at $9.61 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.06.

Hershey Stock Down 2.0 %

Hershey stock opened at $197.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.32. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $349,448,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after acquiring an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,879,000 after acquiring an additional 249,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $882,405. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

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.