Hershey (HSY) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

The latest trading session saw Hershey (HSY) ending at $153.72, denoting a +2% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.46%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.65%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 3.07%.Shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker witnessed a loss of 12.26% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 1.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.08%.Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Hershey in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 6, 2025. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $2.38 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 17.82%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $2.85 billion, indicating a 7.4% upward movement from the same quarter last year.It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Hershey. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.57% lower. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).In the context of valuation, Hershey is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 19.9. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 19.77.It's also important to note that HSY currently trades at a PEG ratio of 4.32. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Food - Confectionery industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.68 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 216, which puts it in the bottom 14% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks