What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Hershey Q3 Earnings?

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for Hershey in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $1.26 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.48. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hershey’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.41 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.96 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $170.83.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $179.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $176.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $234,386,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $125,868,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Company Profile

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.