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Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Kimberly-Clark (KMB - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $135.21, moving +0.02% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.67%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.93%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 9.29%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of consumer products such as Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissue had gained 0.39% over the past month, lagging the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 2.32% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.65% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Kimberly-Clark as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 25, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Kimberly-Clark to post earnings of $1.38 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.99%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.08 billion, up 0.34% from the year-ago period.

KMB's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.20 per share and revenue of $20.66 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +10.12% and +2.39%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Kimberly-Clark should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.11% higher. Kimberly-Clark currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Kimberly-Clark is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 21.81. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.95.

Meanwhile, KMB's PEG ratio is currently 3.11. 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. Consumer Products - Staples stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.83 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Consumer Products - Staples industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 168, putting it in the bottom 34% 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.

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


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