What is DA Davidson’s Forecast for Hershey Q2 Earnings?

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hershey in a research note issued to investors on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland forecasts that the company will earn $0.99 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson has a “Neutral” rating and a $163.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2026 earnings at $6.49 EPS.

HSY has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.40.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $168.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.67. Hershey has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,396,000 after buying an additional 154,238 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.