Hershey (HSY) closed at $171.46 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.16% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.02%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.9%.
The chocolate bar and candy maker's stock has dropped by 3.24% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.78% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.27%.
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 July 30, 2026. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.46, indicating a 20.66% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.66 billion, indicating a 1.7% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $8.43 per share and a revenue of $12.29 billion, signifying shifts of +33.6% and +5.07%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Hershey. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.22% lower. 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 20.79. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 19.82.
We can additionally observe that HSY currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.05. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Food - Confectionery industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.05 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 223, finds itself in the bottom 10% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Hershey Company (The) (HSY): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).