Hershey (HSY) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, KHC or HSY?

Kraft Heinz has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hershey has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer KHC or HSY?

In the previous week, Hershey had 18 more articles in the media than Kraft Heinz. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Hershey and 30 mentions for Kraft Heinz. Hershey's average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat Kraft Heinz's score of 0.60 indicating that Hershey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Kraft Heinz	15 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hershey	26 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is KHC or HSY more profitable?

Hershey has a net margin of 15.32% compared to Kraft Heinz's net margin of 10.44%. Hershey's return on equity of 38.70% beat Kraft Heinz's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kraft Heinz	10.44%	7.37%	4.06%
Hershey	15.32%	38.70%	13.12%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, KHC or HSY?

Kraft Heinz has higher revenue and earnings than Hershey. Kraft Heinz is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hershey, 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
Kraft Heinz	$25.85B	1.22	$2.74B	$2.19	12.16
Hershey	$11.20B	3.13	$2.22B	$8.11	21.33

Is KHC or HSY a better dividend stock?

Kraft Heinz pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Hershey pays an annual dividend of $5.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Kraft Heinz pays out 73.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hershey pays out 67.6% 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. Hershey has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate KHC or HSY?

Kraft Heinz presently has a consensus price target of $30.47, indicating a potential upside of 14.42%. Hershey has a consensus price target of $158.84, indicating a potential downside of 8.18%. Given Kraft Heinz's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Kraft Heinz is more favorable than Hershey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kraft Heinz	3 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.83
Hershey	5 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75

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

78.2% of Kraft Heinz shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.0% of Hershey shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Kraft Heinz shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Hershey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Hershey beats Kraft Heinz on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.