Anthem closed at $496.93 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.45% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.84%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.33%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.74%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the health insurer had lost 2.18% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 1.18% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.5% in that time.
Anthem will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.76, up 10.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $38.12 billion, up 14.56% from the year-ago period.
ANTM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $28.51 per share and revenue of $153.22 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.74% and +11.88%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Anthem. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.07% higher. Anthem is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Anthem currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.51. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.06.
Investors should also note that ANTM has a PEG ratio of 1.41 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 Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.17 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 79, putting it in the top 32% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Anthem (ANTM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
Anthem closed at $496.93 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.45% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.84%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.33%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.74%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the health insurer had lost 2.18% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 1.18% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.5% in that time.
Anthem will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.76, up 10.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $38.12 billion, up 14.56% from the year-ago period.
ANTM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $28.51 per share and revenue of $153.22 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.74% and +11.88%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Anthem. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.07% higher. Anthem is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Anthem currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.51. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.06.
Investors should also note that ANTM has a PEG ratio of 1.41 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 Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.17 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 79, putting it in the top 32% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.