Research Analysts Offer Predictions for Hershey Q1 Earnings

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hershey in a report released on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland expects that the company will post earnings of $1.98 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $6.77 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2026 earnings at $6.45 EPS.

HSY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.05.

Hershey Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of HSY opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Hershey by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 20,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 7,835 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $384,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.