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3M (MMM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, 3M (MMM - Free Report) closed at $156.44, marking a -0.24% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.48% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.29%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MMM as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect MMM to post earnings of $1.71 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 22.27%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7 billion, down 14.35% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.92 per share and revenue of $30.43 billion. These totals would mark changes of -12.97% and -5.32%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MMM should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 0.56% higher. MMM currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, MMM is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.8. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.82, which means MMM is trading at a discount to the group.

Investors should also note that MMM has a PEG ratio of 2.08 right now. 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. The Diversified Operations was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.1 at yesterday's closing price.

The Diversified Operations industry is part of the Conglomerates sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 205, which puts it in the bottom 20% 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.

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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