First Solar (FSLR) closed the most recent trading day at $152.70, moving +1.01% from the previous trading session. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.25%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.31%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had lost 2.92% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 4.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.05%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of First Solar in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.63, signifying a 19.08% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.01 billion, up 0.34% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.5 per share and a revenue of $4.89 billion, representing changes of +20.63% and +16.28%, 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 such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.01% lower. First Solar currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, First Solar is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.43. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 14.81.
Meanwhile, FSLR's PEG ratio is currently 0.3. 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 Solar industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.53 as of yesterday's close.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 147, this industry ranks in the bottom 41% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
