What is DA Davidson’s Estimate for Hershey FY2025 Earnings?

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson reduced their FY2025 earnings estimates for Hershey in a research note issued on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $6.02 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $6.88. 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.

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

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HSY. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE HSY opened at $158.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $163.49 and its 200 day moving average is $179.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Hershey has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.