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Hershey (HSY) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

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Hershey (HSY - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $195.04, demonstrating a -0.24% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.18%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.87%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.6%.

Heading into today, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 6.45% over the past month, outpacing the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 7.26% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 5.17% in that time.

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 October 26, 2023. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $2.48 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 14.29%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.98 billion, indicating a 9.18% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $9.54 per share and a revenue of $11.27 billion, indicating changes of +11.97% and +8.15%, respectively, from the former year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Hershey. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower. At present, Hershey boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Hershey is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.5. This valuation marks no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.5.

It's also important to note that HSY currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.4. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Food - Confectionery was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.82 at yesterday's closing price.

The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 44, this industry ranks in the top 18% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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.

To follow HSY in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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