Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.17 EPS

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey updated its FY 2024 guidance to -9.590 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.49-9.59 EPS.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,235,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,185. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.72. Hershey has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $233.21. The stock has a market cap of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.