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The most recent trading session ended with Hershey (HSY) standing at $170.18, reflecting a -0.18% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.04% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05%.
Shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker witnessed a loss of 2.07% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 4.32% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 1.05%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Hershey in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.38, up 17.82% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.86 billion, up 7.55% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $9.06 per share and a revenue of $11.17 billion, demonstrating changes of -5.53% and +0.07%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% lower. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
In terms of valuation, Hershey is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.81. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.58.
We can additionally observe that HSY currently boasts a PEG ratio of 4.09. 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 3.63 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 236, positioning it in the bottom 6% of all 250+ industries.