Hershey Tops 3Q Profit Forecasts

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Hershey Co. (HSY) on Friday reported third-quarter earnings of $227.4 million.

On a per-share basis, the Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company said it had profit of $1.06. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.29 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.18 per share.

The chocolate bar and candy maker posted revenue of $2 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.02 billion.

Hershey expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.28 to $4.32 per share.

Hershey shares have risen 7 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen slightly more than 4 percent. The stock has increased slightly more than 1 percent in the last 12 months.