Is Hershey (HSY) a Solid Growth Stock? 3 Reasons to Think "Yes"

Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.

That's because, these stocks usually carry above-average risk and volatility. In fact, betting on a stock for which the growth story is actually over or nearing its end could lead to significant loss.

However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.

Hershey (HSY) is on the list of such stocks currently recommended by our proprietary system. In addition to a favorable Growth Score, it carries a top Zacks Rank.

Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this chocolate bar and candy maker is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:

Earnings Growth

Arguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.

While the historical EPS growth rate for Hershey is 2.9%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 30.1% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 15.3%.

Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio

Asset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.

Right now, Hershey has an S/TA ratio of 0.85, which means that the company gets $0.85 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.6, it can be said that the company is more efficient.

In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Hershey looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 4.6% this year versus the industry average of 0%.

Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions

Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Hershey. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.7% over the past month.

Bottom Line

While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made Hershey a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above.

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This combination indicates that Hershey is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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