Accenture (ACN) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Accenture (ACN) closed at $250, marking a -1.15% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 3.27%.
Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had lost 10.06% over the past month, lagging the Business Services sector's loss of 6.25% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.02% in that time.
Accenture will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be March 23, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Accenture to post earnings of $2.49 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 1.97%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $15.52 billion, up 3.12% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.44 per share and revenue of $64.05 billion, which would represent changes of +6.82% and +3.99%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower within the past month. Accenture currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Accenture currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 22.1. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.74, which means Accenture is trading at a premium to the group.
It is also worth noting that ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.33. 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. ACN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.31 as of yesterday's close.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, which puts it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. 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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Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
