Mondelez International (MDLZ) Competitors

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) and Hershey (NYSE:HSY) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Do analysts recommend MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International currently has a consensus price target of $70.05, suggesting a potential upside of 3.88%. Hershey has a consensus price target of $163.35, suggesting a potential downside of 1.96%. Given Mondelez International's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Mondelez International is more favorable than Hershey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mondelez International	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59
Hershey	5 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75

Does the media favor MDLZ or HSY?

In the previous week, Mondelez International had 14 more articles in the media than Hershey. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for Mondelez International and 33 mentions for Hershey. Mondelez International's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Hershey's score of 0.97 indicating that Mondelez International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Mondelez International	40 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hershey	20 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International received 286 more outperform votes than Hershey when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.21% of users gave Mondelez International an outperform vote while only 50.76% of users gave Hershey an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Mondelez International	Outperform Votes 891 70.21%	Underperform Votes 378 29.79%
Hershey	Outperform Votes 605 50.76%	Underperform Votes 587 49.24%

Is MDLZ or HSY more profitable?

Hershey has a net margin of 19.83% compared to Mondelez International's net margin of 12.68%. Hershey's return on equity of 44.77% beat Mondelez International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mondelez International	12.68%	16.75%	6.38%
Hershey	19.83%	44.77%	15.14%

Is MDLZ or HSY a better dividend stock?

Mondelez International pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey pays an annual dividend of $5.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mondelez International pays out 55.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hershey pays out 50.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Mondelez International has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Hershey has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Hershey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International has higher revenue and earnings than Hershey. Hershey is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mondelez International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mondelez International	$36.44B	2.39	$4.61B	$3.42	19.72
Hershey	$11.20B	3.01	$2.22B	$10.90	15.29

Which has more risk and volatility, MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hershey has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MDLZ or HSY?

78.3% of Mondelez International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.0% of Hershey shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Mondelez International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Hershey shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Mondelez International beats Hershey on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.