In the latest close session, Hershey (HSY) was up +2.34% at $189.07. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.65%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.48%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.82%.
Coming into today, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had gained 1.75% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector gained 0.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.15%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Hershey in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on February 5, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Hershey to post earnings of $1.4 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 47.96%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $2.98 billion, indicating a 3.34% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $6 per share and revenue of $11.59 billion, indicating changes of -35.97% and 0%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.96% higher. Currently, Hershey is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Hershey is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.63. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.75.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 110, this industry ranks in the top 45% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming 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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