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Why the Market Dipped But Hershey (HSY) Gained Today

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Hershey (HSY - Free Report) closed at $192.10 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.14% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.32%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.25%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 3.64%.

Shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker witnessed a gain of 2.16% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its gain of 1% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.79%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Hershey in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on August 1, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.43, marking a 28.86% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.31 billion, indicating a 7.23% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $9.59 per share and a revenue of $11.43 billion, demonstrating changes of 0% and +2.4%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.12% decrease. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Looking at its valuation, Hershey is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.81. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.15.

It is also worth noting that HSY currently has a PEG ratio of 4.25. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Food - Confectionery industry stood at 3.24 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, placing it within the bottom 13% of over 250 industries.

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

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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