Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Hershey (HSY) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest market close, Hershey (HSY - Free Report) reached $185.92, with a -0.74% movement compared to the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.09%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.16%.

The chocolate bar and candy maker's stock has dropped by 4.92% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.83%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Hershey in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $1.47 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 26.87%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.33 billion, indicating a 6.36% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $9.60 per share and a revenue of $11.44 billion, demonstrating changes of +0.1% and +2.43%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Hershey. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% lower within the past month. Hershey is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

With respect to valuation, Hershey is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.51. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 19.84 of its industry.

Also, we should mention that HSY has a PEG ratio of 4.19. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Food - Confectionery industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.1.

The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 226, this industry ranks in the bottom 11% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Hershey Company (The) (HSY) - free report >>

Published in