Abbott (ABT) ended the recent trading session at $114.12, demonstrating a -1.92% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.04%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.15%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.36%.
Shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs witnessed a gain of 6.45% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its gain of 0.92%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.33%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Abbott in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.15, reflecting a 5.5% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $11.03 billion, up 6.53% from the year-ago period.
ABT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.68 per share and revenue of $47.74 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +10.29% and +7.7%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Abbott. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
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, 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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.06% downward. Abbott currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Abbott is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.49. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 20.63 of its industry.
One should further note that ABT currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.85. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.78 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 141, positioning it in the bottom 43% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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