Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17), Briefing.com reports. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey updated its FY 2024 guidance to -9.590 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.49-9.59 EPS.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.08. 2,235,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,185. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $189.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.73. Hershey has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $233.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450. Insiders own 0.34% 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.