Hershey (HSY) Advances But Underperforms Market: Key Facts

The most recent trading session ended with Hershey (HSY) standing at $168.01, reflecting a +0.5% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.77%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.42%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 2.28%.The chocolate bar and candy maker's stock has dropped by 3.29% in the past month, falling short of the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 0.33% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 5.73%.The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Hershey in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $1.98 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 35.5%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $2.84 billion, indicating a 12.65% downward movement from the same quarter last year.For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.11 per share and a revenue of $11.43 billion, representing changes of -34.79% and +2.02%, 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. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.01% downward. Hershey is holding a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now.In the context of valuation, Hershey is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 27.34. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 22.31.One should further note that HSY currently holds a PEG ratio of 5.94. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Food - Confectionery industry was having an average PEG ratio of 4.31.The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 234, positioning it in the bottom 7% 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.Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hershey Company (The) (HSY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks