Hershey (HSY) closed the most recent trading day at $164.09, moving -0.04% from the previous trading session. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 3.46%. At the same time, the Dow lost 2.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 4.31%.
Coming into today, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 3.97% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector lost 1.83%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.27%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Hershey in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on May 1, 2025. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.96, down 36.16% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.83 billion, down 13.09% from the prior-year quarter.
HSY's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.10 per share and revenue of $11.42 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -34.9% and +1.93%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.16% downward. Hershey is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
With respect to valuation, Hershey is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.06. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 21.71 for its industry.
It's also important to note that HSY currently trades at a PEG ratio of 5.66. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Food - Confectionery industry held an average PEG ratio of 4.18.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 218, putting it in the bottom 13% 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 ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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