In the latest close session, Abbott (ABT) was down 1.96% at $129.36. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.48%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.03%.
The maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs's shares have seen an increase of 0.71% over the last month, not keeping up with the Medical sector's gain of 7.07% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.09%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Abbott in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect Abbott to post earnings of $1.3 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 7.44%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.42 billion, up 7.4% from the prior-year quarter.
ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.15 per share and revenue of $44.68 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +10.28% and +6.5%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Currently, Abbott is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Abbott is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 25.63. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 19.01.
It is also worth noting that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.5. 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 - Products industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.17.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 144, positioning it in the bottom 42% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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