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Hershey (HSY) closed the latest trading day at $168.79, indicating a -0.33% change from the previous session's end. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.36%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.16%.
The chocolate bar and candy maker's stock has dropped by 4.79% in the past month, exceeding the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 5.7% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 2.36%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Hershey in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $2.38 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 17.82%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $2.86 billion, indicating a 7.55% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Hershey. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 1.69% downward. Hershey presently features a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
Investors should also note Hershey's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 21.12. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 20.84 of its industry.
We can also see that HSY currently has a PEG ratio of 4.59. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Food - Confectionery industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.9 as of yesterday's close.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 232, finds itself in the bottom 8% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.