We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Hershey (HSY) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Read MoreHide Full Article
In the latest trading session, Hershey (HSY - Free Report) closed at $260.31, marking a +0.55% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.37%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.26%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 1.36% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 1.11% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.31% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Hershey as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.90, up 5.56% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.53 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.49 per share and revenue of $11.29 billion, which would represent changes of +11.38% and +8.39%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. 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. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Hershey has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.27 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.24, so we one might conclude that Hershey is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that HSY has a PEG ratio of 3.56. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. HSY's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.56 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 49, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Hershey (HSY) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Hershey (HSY - Free Report) closed at $260.31, marking a +0.55% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.37%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.26%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 1.36% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 1.11% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.31% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Hershey as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.90, up 5.56% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.53 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.49 per share and revenue of $11.29 billion, which would represent changes of +11.38% and +8.39%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. 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. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Hershey has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.27 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.24, so we one might conclude that Hershey is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that HSY has a PEG ratio of 3.56. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. HSY's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.56 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 49, which puts it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.