NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hershey (HSY) reported better-than-expected second quarter results before today's market open.
The chocolate company posted earnings of 85 cents per share, exceeding analysts estimated 78 cents per share. Revenue came in at $1.638 billion, surpassing analysts estimated $1.61 billion.
Last year, the company reported earnings of 78 cents per share on revenue of $1.58 billion.
Hershey estimates its 2016 net sales will increase approximately 1% and its earnings to increase by 3% to 4% in the range of $4.24 to $4.28.
In June, Mondelez (MDLZ) made a $23 billion offer to purchase Hershey, which was unanimously rejected by Hershey's board of directors. The offer valued Hershey at $107 per share.
Shares of Hershey closed down 1.23% to $108.19 in Wednesday's trading session.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:
We rate HERSHEY CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins, notable return on equity and solid stock price performance. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.
