3M (MMM) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
3M (MMM) closed at $169.67 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.03% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.31% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.52%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.28%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics had gained 9.31% over the past month, outpacing the Conglomerates sector's gain of 2.74% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.92% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MMM as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.56, down 0.84% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.19 billion, up 0.5% from the year-ago period.
MMM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $9.34 per share and revenue of $32.23 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -10.75% and -1.64%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MMM. 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.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.15% lower. MMM currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that MMM has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.36 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.19, so we one might conclude that MMM is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, MMM's PEG ratio is currently 1.93. 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. Diversified Operations stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.93 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Diversified Operations industry is part of the Conglomerates sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 36, putting it in the top 15% 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 MMM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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