The latest trading session saw Accenture (ACN) ending at $352.79, denoting a -0.22% adjustment from its last day's close. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.39% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.6%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the consulting company had lost 6.18% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.59% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.06% in that time.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Accenture in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.39, up 3.67% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $17.21 billion, up 6.09% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.77 per share and a revenue of $69.02 billion, representing changes of +6.86% and +6.36%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Accenture. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower. Accenture presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Accenture is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 27.68. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 28.15.
It's also important to note that ACN currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.09. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Computers - IT Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.86 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 38, putting it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
