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Here's Why Investors Should Hold Accenture (ACN) Stock Now

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Accenture plc (ACN - Free Report) is benefiting from its acquisitions, consulting businesses and solid liquidity.

ACN’s earnings and revenues for fiscal 2023 are expected to improve 7% and 4.4%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago reported figures.

Factors That Augur Well

Accenture has been steadily gaining traction in both of its outsourcing and consulting businesses. These are backed by high demand for services which can improve operating efficiencies and save costs. On the outsourcing front, the company continues to witness strong demand to assist clients with the operation and maintenance of digital-related services and cloud enablement. In first-quarter fiscal 2023, Accenture’s net revenues from managed services (previously called as Outsourcing) increased 11% in U.S. dollars and 20% in local currency. On the consulting front, the company experiences strong demand for digital, cloud and security-related services. In first-quarter fiscal 2023, Accenture’s net revenues from consulting business increased 1% in U.S. dollars and 10% in local currency.

Acquisitions have been one of the key growth strategies for Accenture. It had enabled the company to enter new markets, diversify and broaden its product portfolio, and maintain its leading position. ACN’s recent buyout of Inspirage is expected to boost Accenture’s Oracle Cloud capabilities. Another acquisition of Fiftyfive5 is expected to strengthen Accenture’s capabilities across product innovation, commerce, marketing, and sales and service.

Accenture's current ratio (a measure of liquidity) was 1.26 at the end of first-quarter fiscal 2023, higher than 1.23 recorded at the end of the prior quarter. The gradually increasing current ratio bodes well for Accenture as it implies that the risk of default is less.

A Key Risk

Higher talent costs due to a competitive talent market are affecting consulting services providers like Accenture. The industry is labor intensive and heavily dependent on foreign talent. Moreover, while advancement in automation and AI offer massive opportunity to the industry, these technologies enable clients to comprehend and integrate new methods to improve performance, thereby creating uncertainty for consulting services firms.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Accenture currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH - Free Report) and DocuSign, Inc. (DOCU - Free Report) .

Booz Allen carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. BAH has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8.9%.

Booz Allen delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.8%, on average.

DocuSign is currently Zacks #1 Ranked. DOCU has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 13.7%.

DOCU delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.6%, on average.
 


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