Abbott (ABT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Abbott (ABT) closed the latest trading day at $120.05, indicating a +0.54% change from the previous session's end. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.17% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.55%.
Shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs have appreciated by 5.22% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Medical sector's gain of 5.93% and outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 3.98%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Abbott in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.97, marking a 5.83% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $9.81 billion, indicating a 0.65% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $4.61 per share and a revenue of $41.78 billion, signifying shifts of +3.83% and +4.17%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Abbott. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower. Abbott is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Abbott is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.9. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.84.
Also, we should mention that ABT has a PEG ratio of 2.88. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Medical - Products industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.65.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 161, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. 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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Abbott Laboratories (ABT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
