What is DA Davidson’s Estimate for Hershey Q1 Earnings?

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Hershey in a report released on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland expects that the company will earn $1.98 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $149.00 price target 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 topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $158.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. Hershey has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.11.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.