Advertisement
HSY or PG or TGT
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Hershey (HSY) vs. Procter & Gamble (PG) vs. Target (TGT) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- HSY leads YTD performance at around 16%, buoyed by operational unification and promotional momentum, though recent weeks show volatility.
- PG lags with modest YTD gains near 1.4%, facing margin pressures from commodity costs and tariffs amid broader sector challenges.
- TGT posts strong YTD return of 17%, supported by price cuts on thousands of items and analyst upgrades, despite recent dips.
- TGT trades at the lowest P/E of 13.9x, suggesting relative value, while HSY at 48.3x reflects premium pricing in confectionery.
- All three exhibit consumer staples resilience, but TGT's retail exposure introduces higher cyclicality versus the defensive profiles of HSY and PG.
Introduction
This stock comparison evaluates HSY, PG, and TGT in the consumer staples and retail sectors, highlighting their relative performance amid fluctuating commodity costs, tariff concerns, and shifting consumer demand. These companies represent defensive consumer goods giants alongside a major retailer, offering insights into stability versus growth potential. Traders seeking short-term momentum and long-term investors prioritizing dividends or valuation may find value in analyzing their recent trajectories, sector exposures, and market positioning for informed portfolio decisions.
HSY Overview and Recent Performance
The Hershey Company (HSY), a leading confectionery producer known for brands like Reese's, has navigated recent market activity with operational streamlining. The firm unified its salty snacks and sweets units to accelerate growth, while launching Reese's promotions tied to March Madness for consumer engagement. Stock behavior reflects volatility, with a roughly 5% pullback in recent weeks after stronger quarterly results from the shelf-stable food group. YTD gains hover around 16%, outperforming the sector amid analyst upgrades like Morgan Stanley's price target hike to $247. Sentiment benefits from brand strength, though elevated P/E at 48x signals premium valuation sensitivity to cocoa costs and input inflation.
PG Overview and Recent Performance
Procter & Gamble (PG), the world's largest consumer products maker with icons like Tide and Pampers, contends with margin squeezes from rising commodities and tariffs in recent market activity. Shares have declined about 6.5% over the past month, lagging peers amid modest EPS growth expectations. YTD performance stands at approximately 1.4%, reflecting stability in a challenging environment but underperformance relative to broader staples. Key influences include expansions like Bevel into men's body care, yet analyst consensus points to hold ratings with targets around $168. At a P/E of 21x, PG offers defensive appeal tempered by cost headwinds.
TGT Overview and Recent Performance
Target Corporation (TGT), a leading U.S. retailer, has prioritized regaining traffic through price reductions on over 3,000 items under new CEO Michael Fiddelke. Recent weeks feature Circle deal promotions and dress code tweaks to boost store appeal, amid efforts to reverse sales declines. Shares show resilience with 17% YTD gains, though weekly dips of 2-3% persist. Analyst lifts, such as JPMorgan to $120 and DA Davidson to $140, underscore optimism post-Q4 results. Trading at a P/E of 14x with a 52-week range of $83-$126, TGT's performance ties to consumer spending recovery, balancing cyclical risks with value positioning.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page curates the top performers from hundreds of AI trading bots that analyze thousands of tickers across diverse strategies, timeframes, and styles. Selected from over 351 agents, these 25+ trending bots spotlight current market conditions, delivering annualized returns up to 126% with win rates of 55-85%, profit factors averaging 2-4, and low drawdowns under $12,000 on model portfolios. Examples include semiconductor-focused bots at +92% returns (67% win rate) and consumer staples strategies trading tickers like TGT, HSY at +71%. With varying approaches from swing trading to hedging, they adapt to volatility in energy, tech, and staples. Explore Trending AI Robots to identify bots suited to your risk profile and market outlook.
Head-to-Head Comparison
HSY, PG, and TGT span confectionery manufacturing, household products, and big-box retail, with HSY and PG offering purer staples defense against downturns versus TGT's discretionary exposure. Growth drivers differ: HSY leverages brand promotions amid cocoa volatility, PG global scale buffers tariff hits, and TGT targets traffic via pricing. Recent momentum favors HSY and TGT YTD, but PG's massive $338B market cap dwarfs others. Risks include input costs for producers and consumer pullback for retail; valuations show TGT cheapest at 14x P/E, PG mid-range at 21x, and HSY premium. Sentiment tilts positive for TGT on upgrades, balanced by staples stability.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI analysis leans toward TGT in the current environment, citing its attractive valuation, superior YTD momentum, and proactive catalysts like widespread price cuts amid relative undervaluation versus peers. While HSY shows trend consistency in staples and PG superior stability, TGT's positioning offers probabilistic upside for trend-following bots, balanced against retail cyclicality.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
HSY’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whilePG’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and TGT’s FA Score reflects 2 green FA rating(s).
- HSY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- PG’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- TGT’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
HSY’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while PG’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s), and TGT’s TA Score reflects 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- HSY’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 6 bearish.
- PG’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- TGT’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 3 bearish.
Price Growth
HSY (@Food: Specialty/Candy) experienced а +2.26% price change this week, while PG (@Household/Personal Care) price change was +2.47% , and TGT (@Discount Stores) price fluctuated +2.97% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food: Specialty/Candy industry was +2.89%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +0.38%, and the average quarterly price growth was +6.38%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Household/Personal Care industry was +2.02%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.74%, and the average quarterly price growth was -7.71%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Discount Stores industry was +0.71%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -1.87%, and the average quarterly price growth was +11.43%.
Reported Earning Dates
HSY is expected to report earnings on Apr 30, 2026.
PG is expected to report earnings on Apr 24, 2026.
TGT is expected to report earnings on May 20, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Food: Specialty/Candy (+2.89% weekly)A specialty/candy manufacturer specializes in one or more of the following: chocolate, candies, pasta, condiments, seasonings, among other items. Hershey Company, McCormick & Company and J.M. Smucker Company are some of the major firms in this segment. Demand for this industry’s products comes from both institutions/restaurants as well as households.
@Household/Personal Care (+2.02% weekly)Household/Personal Care companies sell products for home cleaning and/or personal hygiene and grooming purposes. Products of this industry include detergents, shampoos, soaps, cosmetics, fabric conditioners and infant care fragrances. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Estee Lauder and Colgate-Palmolive are some of the biggest names in the business. A lot of the products become a necessary part of people’s daily routine, and therefore the industry is relatively less vulnerable to macroeconomic downturns. At the same time, product quality, consumer safety, and ease of use are extremely critical factors for a company to survive competition and earn recognition in this industry.
@Discount Stores (+0.71% weekly)Companies in the discount stores industry specialize in offering substantial discounts on a vast array of retail products. Some companies in this industry also operate general merchandise warehouse clubs. Products sold at discount stores are typically similar to those of any department store, but the pricing of the goods is generally much lower (and hence the name “discount”). Think Dollar General Corporation, Dollar Tree, Inc. and Five Below, Inc. Many discount stores target low-income households and/or price-sensitive consumers as their potential market. Discount stores’ profitability could hinge on factors like competitive pricing, sufficient locations, healthy revenue per square foot, and effective advertisement. These store operators could have an edge over other retailers during financial crises or recessions, when many consumers could be looking for less expensive alternatives.
| HSY | PG | TGT | |
| Capitalization | 42.7B | 341B | 56.2B |
| EBITDA | 1.94B | 24.5B | 8.4B |
| Gain YTD | 16.620 | 3.064 | 28.175 |
| P/E Ratio | 48.58 | 21.73 | 15.26 |
| Revenue | 11.7B | 85.3B | 105B |
| Total Cash | 926M | 10.8B | 1.04B |
| Total Debt | 5.74B | 36.6B | 20B |
HSY | PG | TGT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 5 | 52 | 9 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 38 Fair valued | 39 Fair valued | 60 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 61 | 51 | 100 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 45 | 29 | 37 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 49 | 59 | 18 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 5 | 76 | 25 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | n/a |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
HSY's Valuation (38) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as PG (39) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is in the same range as TGT (60) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to PG’s and similarly to TGT’s over the last 12 months.
PG's Profit vs Risk Rating (51) in the Household Or Personal Care industry is in the same range as HSY (61) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for TGT (100) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that PG's stock grew similarly to HSY’s and somewhat faster than TGT’s over the last 12 months.
PG's SMR Rating (29) in the Household Or Personal Care industry is in the same range as TGT (37) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is in the same range as HSY (45) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry. This means that PG's stock grew similarly to TGT’s and similarly to HSY’s over the last 12 months.
TGT's Price Growth Rating (18) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as HSY (49) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for PG (59) in the Household Or Personal Care industry. This means that TGT's stock grew similarly to HSY’s and somewhat faster than PG’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's P/E Growth Rating (5) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is in the same range as TGT (25) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for PG (76) in the Household Or Personal Care industry. This means that HSY's stock grew similarly to TGT’s and significantly faster than PG’s over the last 12 months.
| HSY | PG | TGT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 66% | 1 day ago 64% | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 66% | 1 day ago 43% | 1 day ago 61% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 45% | 1 day ago 49% | 1 day ago 66% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 5 days ago 48% | 1 day ago 46% | 1 day ago 61% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 59% | 1 day ago 42% | 1 day ago 67% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 52% | 1 day ago 42% | 1 day ago 68% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 64% | 1 day ago 45% | 1 day ago 67% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 10 days ago 54% | 4 days ago 42% | 22 days ago 64% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 60% | 1 day ago 33% | 1 day ago 71% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 57% | 1 day ago 36% | 1 day ago 52% |
Advertisement
| 1 Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs / NAME | Price $ | Chg $ | Chg % |
| SPFF | 9.00 | 0.03 | +0.33% |
| Global X SuperIncome™ Preferred ETF | |||
| DWSH | 6.53 | 0.02 | +0.23% |
| AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Short ETF | |||
| SMAX | 27.11 | 0.05 | +0.17% |
| iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Sep ETF | |||
| BRTR | 50.33 | 0.02 | +0.03% |
| iShares Total Return Active ETF | |||
| BLV | 69.08 | -0.03 | -0.04% |
| Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF | |||
HSY and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, HSY has been loosely correlated with KHC. These tickers have moved in lockstep 58% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if HSY jumps, then KHC could also see price increases.