Yahoo Finance Is Hershey (HSY) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?
For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Hershey (HSY) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Hershey is one of 198 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Hershey is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HSY's full-year earnings has moved 4.5% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, HSY has moved about 5.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 3.3%. This means that Hershey is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Marine Harvest ASA (MHGVY). The stock is up 4.1% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Marine Harvest ASA's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Hershey belongs to the Food - Confectionery industry, a group that includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.6% so far this year, so HSY is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Marine Harvest ASA belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. This 50-stock industry is currently ranked #144. The industry has moved -4.5% year to date.
Hershey and Marine Harvest ASA could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Hershey Company (The) (HSY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Marine Harvest ASA (MHGVY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
