Hershey (HSY) closed at $164.41 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.18% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.77%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.67%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.92%.
Shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker have depreciated by 7.08% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 4.83%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.96%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Hershey in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.11, indicating a 62.31% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.25 billion, indicating a 2.3% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.49 per share and revenue of $12.29 billion, which would represent changes of +34.55% and +5.12%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
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, 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. As of now, Hershey holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Hershey is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 19.6. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.96.
One should further note that HSY currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.32. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Food - Confectionery industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.32.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 106, positioning it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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.
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Hershey Company (The) (HSY): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).