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Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $280.61 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.93% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.3%.
Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had gained 6.9% over the past month, outpacing the Business Services sector's loss of 1.05% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.94% 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 $2.91, up 4.68% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $15.58 billion, up 4.12% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.34 per share and revenue of $64.24 billion, which would represent changes of +5.88% and +4.3%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% lower. Accenture is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
Digging into valuation, Accenture currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.27. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.
Also, we should mention that ACN has a PEG ratio of 2.55. 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. Consulting Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.45 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 171, putting 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.
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Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $280.61 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.93% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.3%.
Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had gained 6.9% over the past month, outpacing the Business Services sector's loss of 1.05% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.94% 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 $2.91, up 4.68% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $15.58 billion, up 4.12% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.34 per share and revenue of $64.24 billion, which would represent changes of +5.88% and +4.3%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% lower. Accenture is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
Digging into valuation, Accenture currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.27. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.
Also, we should mention that ACN has a PEG ratio of 2.55. 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. Consulting Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.45 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 171, putting 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.