Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) closed at $161.22 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.05% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.84% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.38%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.38%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's biggest maker of health care products had lost 3.87% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 1.28% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.96% in that time.

Johnson & Johnson will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to post earnings of $2.59 per share. This would mark no growth from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $23.85 billion, up 6.85% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $10.48 per share and revenue of $99.49 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.94% and +6.1%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Johnson & Johnson should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.96% higher within the past month. Johnson & Johnson is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note Johnson & Johnson's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.38. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.93, so we one might conclude that Johnson & Johnson is trading at a premium comparatively.

It is also worth noting that JNJ currently has a PEG ratio of 2.2. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 172, which puts it in the bottom 33% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - free report >>

Published in