The most recent trading session ended with McKesson (MCK) standing at $672.99, reflecting a +0.74% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.55%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.01%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.14%.
The prescription drug distributor's shares have seen an increase of 4.34% over the last month, surpassing the Medical sector's loss of 3.93% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.22%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of McKesson in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $9.81, up 58.74% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $93.69 billion, reflecting a 22.7% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $32.76 per share and revenue of $360.63 billion, which would represent changes of +19.39% and +16.73%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for McKesson. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. McKesson presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, McKesson is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.39. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 16.56 of its industry.
One should further note that MCK currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.43. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Medical - Dental Supplies industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.8.
The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 77, this industry ranks in the top 31% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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McKesson Corporation (MCK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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