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Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $339 in the latest trading session, marking a +1% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.28% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.29%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.16%.
Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had lost 16.78% over the past month, outpacing the Business Services sector's loss of 22.1% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 5.39% in that time.
Accenture will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.36, up 16.26% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $14.66 billion, up 21.31% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.54 per share and revenue of $59.85 billion, which would represent changes of +19.77% and +18.44%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Accenture currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Investors should also note Accenture's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 31.84. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.36, which means Accenture is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that ACN has a PEG ratio of 3.18 right now. 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. The Consulting Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.15 at yesterday's closing price.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 40, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $339 in the latest trading session, marking a +1% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.28% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.29%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.16%.
Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had lost 16.78% over the past month, outpacing the Business Services sector's loss of 22.1% and lagging the S&P 500's loss of 5.39% in that time.
Accenture will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.36, up 16.26% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $14.66 billion, up 21.31% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.54 per share and revenue of $59.85 billion, which would represent changes of +19.77% and +18.44%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Accenture currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Investors should also note Accenture's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 31.84. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.36, which means Accenture is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that ACN has a PEG ratio of 3.18 right now. 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. The Consulting Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.15 at yesterday's closing price.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 40, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.