Hershey (HSY) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Friday, May 3rd. Analysts expect the company to announce 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 that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. 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 $193.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.68. Hershey has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

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.