3M (MMM) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, 3M (MMM) closed at $129.12, marking a +0.77% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.29% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.8%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 10.96%.
Coming into today, shares of the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics had gained 0.66% in the past month. In that same time, the Conglomerates sector gained 2.57%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.23%.
3M will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, 3M is projected to report earnings of $2.36 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 2.16%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.05 billion, down 6.51% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for 3M 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 2.11% lower within the past month. 3M currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that 3M has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.47 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.08.
It is also worth noting that MMM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.31. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Diversified Operations industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.67 as of yesterday's close.
The Diversified Operations industry is part of the Conglomerates sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 174, putting it in the bottom 31% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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3M Company (MMM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
