Agilent Technologies (A) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors
The latest trading session saw Agilent Technologies (A) ending at $130.99, denoting a +0.85% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.07%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.16%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.36%.
Heading into today, shares of the scientific instrument maker had lost 7.08% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 5.93% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.05% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Agilent Technologies in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on February 27, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.21, down 11.68% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.57 billion, indicating a 10.53% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.48 per share and a revenue of $6.74 billion, representing changes of +0.74% and -1.42%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Agilent Technologies should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. 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. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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 shifted 0.07% upward. Agilent Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Agilent Technologies currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.72. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 24.
Also, we should mention that A has a PEG ratio of 2.96. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Electronics - Testing Equipment industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.69.
The Electronics - Testing Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 40, this industry ranks in the top 16% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. 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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Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) : Free Stock Analysis Report
