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

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $158.13 on Wednesday. The company 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. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 130.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.