Accenture (ACN) closed the most recent trading day at $257.43, moving +2.97% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.53%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.38%.
Shares of the consulting company have depreciated by 0.04% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 1.66%, and the S&P 500's loss of 0.5%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Accenture in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Accenture to post earnings of $3.74 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 4.18%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $18.56 billion, up 4.93% from the prior-year quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $13.77 per share and a revenue of $73.8 billion, signifying shifts of +6.5% and +5.92%, respectively, from the last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Accenture. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% lower within the past month. Accenture currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Accenture is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.15. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 16.38 for its industry.
It's also important to note that ACN currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.37. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computers - IT Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.82.
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 78, this industry ranks in the top 32% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Accenture PLC (ACN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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