Anthem (ANTM) Stock Moves -0.06%: What You Should Know
Anthem (ANTM) closed at $251.96 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.06% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 2.06% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.81%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.99%.
Heading into today, shares of the health insurer had lost 9.62% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 6.47% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.47% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from ANTM as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 30, 2019. In that report, analysts expect ANTM to post earnings of $2.21 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 71.32%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $23.33 billion, up 3.94% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $15.66 per share and revenue of $91.64 billion. These totals would mark changes of +30.07% and +2.9%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for ANTM. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. ANTM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, ANTM is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.1. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.67.
Meanwhile, ANTM's PEG ratio is currently 1.23. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - HMOs stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.21 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 108, which puts it in the top 42% 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 ANTM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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