Hershey (HSY) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

The most recent trading session ended with Hershey (HSY) standing at $170.18, reflecting a -0.18% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.04% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05%.Shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker witnessed a loss of 2.07% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its loss of 4.32% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 1.05%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Hershey in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.38, up 17.82% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.86 billion, up 7.55% from the prior-year quarter.For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $9.06 per share and a revenue of $11.17 billion, demonstrating changes of -5.53% and +0.07%, respectively, from the preceding year.It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. 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. 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% lower. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).In terms of valuation, Hershey is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.81. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 19.58.We can additionally observe that HSY currently boasts a PEG ratio of 4.09. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Food - Confectionery industry stood at 3.63 at the close of the market yesterday.The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 236, positioning it in the bottom 6% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.Free: 5 Stocks to Buy As Infrastructure Spending SoarsTrillions of dollars in Federal funds have been earmarked to repair and upgrade America’s infrastructure. In addition to roads and bridges, this flood of cash will pour into AI data centers, renewable energy sources and more.In, you’ll discover 5 surprising stocks positioned to profit the most from the spending spree that’s just getting started in this space.Download How to Profit from the Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Boom absolutely free today.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 ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks