Hershey (HSY) Competitors

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

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%

Which has stronger valuation and 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	$36.46B	2.41	$4.61B	$2.69	25.22
Hershey	$10.75B	3.21	$2.22B	$8.11	21.02

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International received 290 more outperform votes than Hershey when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.25% of users gave Mondelez International an outperform vote while only 50.50% of users gave Hershey an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Mondelez International	Outperform Votes 895 70.25%	Underperform Votes 379 29.75%
Hershey	Outperform Votes 605 50.50%	Underperform Votes 593 49.50%

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

Do analysts rate MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International currently has a consensus price target of $70.11, indicating a potential upside of 3.34%. Hershey has a consensus price target of $158.84, indicating a potential downside of 6.82%. Given Mondelez International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities 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)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.52
Hershey	5 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75

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 3.2%. Mondelez International pays out 69.9% 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. 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 more risk and volatility, MDLZ or HSY?

Mondelez International has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hershey has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to MDLZ or HSY?

In the previous week, Mondelez International had 10 more articles in the media than Hershey. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Mondelez International and 19 mentions for Hershey. Mondelez International's average media sentiment score of 1.60 beat Hershey's score of 1.23 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	28 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Hershey	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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