In the latest trading session, Cisco Systems (CSCO) closed at $76.04, marking a -1.29% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.19% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.66%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.03%.
Shares of the seller of routers, switches, software and services witnessed a loss of 0.94% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its gain of 0.02%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.54%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Cisco Systems in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.02, reflecting a 8.51% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $15.12 billion, showing a 8.06% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $4.1 per share and a revenue of $60.59 billion, signifying shifts of +7.61% and +6.95%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Cisco Systems. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.8% increase. Cisco Systems currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Cisco Systems's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.77. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 17.47.
It's also important to note that CSCO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.34. 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 - Networking industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.61.
The Computer - Networking industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 30, placing it within the top 13% 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.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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