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The latest trading session saw Hershey (HSY) ending at $184.86, denoting a +1.32% adjustment from its last day's close. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.22%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.52%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 7.87% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 3.79% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.66% in that time.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Hershey in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on May 3, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.73, signifying a 7.77% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $3.12 billion, indicating a 4.54% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.60 per share and revenue of $11.47 billion, which would represent changes of +0.1% and +2.77%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

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. Over the past month, there's been a 0.06% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Hershey holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Hershey is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.01. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.47, so one might conclude that Hershey is trading at a premium comparatively.

We can also see that HSY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.8. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Food - Confectionery stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.53 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, finds itself in the top 37% echelons 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.