Hershey Co. Beats Second-quarter Earnings Expectations

Hershey Co. beat second-quarter earnings expectations Thursday. The company reported net income of $146 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with a loss of $99 million, or a loss of 47 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 78 cents. It reported sales of $1.64 billion, up from $1.58 billion in the year-earlier period and above the consensus of $1.61 billion. The company said it expects adjusted earnings per share to between $4.24 to $4.28 for 2016. The FactSet consensus is $4.25. Shares of Hershey have gained 18% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500's gain of 4%