Accenture (ACN) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Accenture (ACN) closed at $185.42 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.62% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.3%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.52%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.14%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the consulting company had gained 0.94% over the past month. This has lagged the Business Services sector's gain of 1.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.46% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from ACN as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect ACN to post earnings of $2 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.04%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.14 billion, up 5.01% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.78 per share and revenue of $45.87 billion, which would represent changes of +5.71% and +6.14%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for ACN. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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. 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, 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% higher. ACN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that ACN has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.98 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.98, which means ACN is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.32. 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 Consulting Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.3 at yesterday's closing price.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 17, putting it in the top 7% 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 ACN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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