Photo by Devlin Donnely / Flickr Creative Commons

Easter is just around the proverbial corner, and the holiday means a great many things to different people. For investors, Easter offers the chance to take a second look at companies that traditionally enjoy an increase in holiday-related product sales.

Let's consider four stocks that have a distinctive connection to the Easter holiday.

Hershey Co (HSY): Easter is the second most important candy-eating occasion of the year, according to the National Confectioner's Association, and the Hershey brand is perennially popular during this season. And it seems that investors also have a sweet tooth for the company: Two weeks ago, Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery upgraded Hershey’s stock rating from Neutral to Overweight with a price target lifted from $147 to $175.

What was the cause for this upgrade? Well, the U.S. retail sales grew 7.5% from the start of 2021 through March 7, and Hershey is on track to exceed prior estimates of 2% U.S. organic growth for the first quarter — though, ironically, this outlook depends on the timing of Easter purchases.

At last check, Hershey was trading at $157.55 closer to its 52-week high of $161.71 than to its 52-week low of $125.50.

1-800Flowers.Com Inc. (FLWS): Flowers are among the colorful Easter gifts, and 1-800Flowers.com is one of the major go-to sources for floral offerings.

Along with its brand name, the company also owns other e-commerce operations including Harry & David, Personalization Mall, Shari’s Berries, Fruit Bouquets, and The Popcorn Factory.

1-800Flowers.com is coming off a very strong Q2 FY2021 with record revenue of $877.3 million, up 44.8% year-over-year to $877.3 million. And the company appears to have navigated the pandemic as second-quarter results were the seventh consecutive quarter of vibrant revenue growth.

“Strong e-commerce growth, combined with excellent operational execution enabled us to drive record adjusted EBITDA and EPS results despite the significant headwinds that we faced in the year-end holiday period, including what we're all familiar with the increased labor and product shipping costs, as well as operating inefficiencies related to the ongoing pandemic,"  said CEO Chris McCann stated.

"This is really a testament to the incredible hard work and commitment of all of our associates across the company to help our customers connect and express themselves in a very challenging environment.”

At last check, 1-800Flowers.com was trading at $27.72, somewhat midway between its 52-week high of $39.61 and its 52-week low of $11.72.

Dillard’s Inc. (DDS): For those in the market for an Easter bonnet — or, more practically, new clothing for a post-COVID-19-pandemic return to the real world — the upscale department store chain Dillard’s will be a destination this spring.

The retail sector was battered and bruised during the pandemic, and Dillard’s suffered its share of bumps — it is in a net operating loss position for the fiscal year — but it seems to be in a stronger position than many of its rivals.

Dillard’s fourth-quarter net income of $67 million is not too far down from the $67.7 million for the prior year’s fourth quarter.

CEO William T. Dillard II stated the company is well-positioned to regain its mojo. “Our year-long efforts to control inventory and expenses and preserve liquidity have resulted in encouraging fourth-quarter results,” he said. “We ended the year with $360 million in cash and inventory down 26%. Retail gross margin improved 171 basis points, and operating expenses declined $123 million.”

Dillard added that “increased vaccinations, warmer weather, and fresh fashions will motivate Americans to shop this spring.” Some of that optimism is shared by investors: Dillard’s shares rose by approximately 11% since the quarterly earnings report last month.

At last check, Dillard’s is trading at $92.26, closer to its 52-week high of $128.00 and far from its 52-week low of $21.50.

Timothy Plan International ETF TPIF: For many people, Easter has a deeper resonance than the secular pleasures associated with the holiday. For investors who seek to combine their religious ideals with a return on investment, the Timothy Plan products use filtering criteria defined as “Biblically responsible investing” focusing on principles including sobriety, family, stewardship, and liberty in determining which companies deserve its attention.

The Timothy Plan's International ETF was launched in December 2019 and currently has $71.5 million in net assets among large-cap international stocks. Victory Capital Holdings Inc (VCTR), an independent investment management firm, is the sub‐advisor on this exchange-traded fund, and Timothy Plan noted it “strives to reduce risk and produce returns through tracking the performance of the Victory International Volatility Weighted BRI Index.”

At last check, the International ETF was trading at $28, close to its 52-week high of $28.26 and distant from its 52-week low of $18.82.