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Hershey (HSY) Stock Moves -0.46%: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Hershey (HSY - Free Report) closed at $226.26, marking a -0.46% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.67% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.33%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.22%.

Coming into today, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had gained 2.18% in the past month. In that same time, the Consumer Staples sector lost 3.31%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.76%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Hershey as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 4, 2022. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $2.06 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 1.9%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.61 billion, up 10.41% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.20 per share and revenue of $10.21 billion. These totals would mark changes of +14.21% and +13.83%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

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.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.12% lower. Hershey currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Digging into valuation, Hershey currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.73. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.07.

It is also worth noting that HSY currently has a PEG ratio of 3.62. 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 3.62 as of yesterday's close.

The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 198, which puts it in the bottom 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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