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Walt Disney (DIS) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Walt Disney (DIS - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $94.29, moving +1.28% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.76%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.17%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 3.03%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the entertainment company had lost 14.78% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 10.47% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.94% in that time.

Walt Disney will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.94, down 12.96% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $22.1 billion, up 14.82% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.98 per share and revenue of $90.27 billion, which would represent changes of +12.75% and +9.13%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Walt Disney should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for 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.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.53% higher within the past month. Walt Disney is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Walt Disney is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.4. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 26.83, which means Walt Disney is trading at a discount to the group.

Meanwhile, DIS's PEG ratio is currently 2.29. 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. The Media Conglomerates industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.29 as of yesterday's close.

The Media Conglomerates industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 74, which puts it in the top 30% 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.

To follow DIS in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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