In the latest trading session, Hershey (HSY) closed at $183.04, marking a +2.1% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.1% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.43%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 6.2% lagged the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.72% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.34%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Hershey in its upcoming release. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $1.46 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 20.66%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.66 billion, up 1.84% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $8.45 per share and a revenue of $12.29 billion, indicating changes of +33.91% and +5.09%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Hershey. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower. Hershey currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Hershey has a Forward P/E ratio of 21.22 right now. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 20.13 for its industry.
It is also worth noting that HSY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Food - Confectionery industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.08 as of yesterday's close.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 216, placing it within the bottom 12% of over 250 industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
