What is DA Davidson’s Forecast for Hershey Q3 Earnings?

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson dropped their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hershey in a report released on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.48 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.71. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2024 earnings at $9.38 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.11 EPS.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other research firms have also commented on HSY. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.55.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $181.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.81. Hershey has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in Hershey by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 2,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the third quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 38,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,331,000 after buying an additional 3,732 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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.