In the latest trading session, Accenture (ACN) closed at $219.89, marking a -1.94% move from the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.1%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.07%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.14%.
The consulting company's stock has dropped by 21.66% in the past month, falling short of the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.05% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.43%.
The upcoming earnings release of Accenture will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.87, reflecting a 1.77% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $17.74 billion, indicating a 6.51% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $13.87 per share and a revenue of $73.9 billion, demonstrating changes of +7.27% and +6.07%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Accenture. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business 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.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Accenture is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Accenture is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.17. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 13.72.
It is also worth noting that ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.16. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As the market closed yesterday, the Computers - IT Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.26.
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, putting it in the top 36% of all 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.
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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