First Solar (FSLR) closed the most recent trading day at $261.23, moving -1.16% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.74%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.63%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.76%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had gained 0.66% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 0.43%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.79%.
The upcoming earnings release of First Solar will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $5.21, showcasing a 42.74% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.58 billion, showing a 4.23% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.6 per share and revenue of $5.11 billion, which would represent changes of +21.46% and +21.6%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for First Solar. 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 business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Currently, First Solar is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, First Solar is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.1. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.9, which means First Solar is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that FSLR has a PEG ratio of 0.52 right now. 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 Solar industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.88.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 37, placing it within the top 15% of over 250 industries.
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.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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