First Solar (FSLR) ended the recent trading session at $167.86, demonstrating a +1.97% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.27%.
The largest U.S. solar company's shares have seen a decrease of 14.08% over the last month, not keeping up with the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 4.61% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.9%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of First Solar in its upcoming release. On that day, First Solar is projected to report earnings of $2.66 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 18.15%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.01 billion, showing a 0.4% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.53 per share and a revenue of $4.88 billion, representing changes of +20.88% and +15.99%, 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. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 has moved 0.68% lower. First Solar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
In the context of valuation, First Solar is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.33. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 15.26.
Also, we should mention that FSLR has a PEG ratio of 0.33. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Solar industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.59 as of yesterday's close.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, positioning it in the bottom 28% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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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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