Hershey (NYSE:HSY) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $9.00-9.10 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.41. The company issued revenue guidance of ~$11.16 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.30 billion. Hershey also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.000-9.100 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.61.

Hershey Stock Down 3.3 %

Hershey stock opened at $170.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.34. Hershey has a 1-year low of $170.90 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.