In the latest trading session, IBM (IBM) closed at $303.18, marking a -1.78% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.24%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.23%.
Heading into today, shares of the technology and consulting company had gained 3.87% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.89% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.31%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of IBM in its forthcoming earnings report. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.33, marking a 10.46% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $19.21 billion, reflecting a 9.45% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $11.39 per share and a revenue of $67.02 billion, signifying shifts of +10.26% and +6.8%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for IBM. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% higher. Currently, IBM is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that IBM has a Forward P/E ratio of 27.11 right now. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 24.95.
It's also important to note that IBM currently trades at a PEG ratio of 3.07. 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 Computer - Integrated Systems industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.1.
The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 15, which puts it in the top 7% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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