Here's Why Accenture (ACN) Gained But Lagged the Market Today
The most recent trading session ended with Accenture (ACN) standing at $377.91, reflecting a +0.11% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.17%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.25%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.37%.
The consulting company's shares have seen an increase of 1.11% over the last month, not keeping up with the Business Services sector's gain of 8.35% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.8%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Accenture in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on March 21, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.65, down 1.49% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $15.84 billion, indicating a 0.15% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $12.22 per share and a revenue of $66.22 billion, demonstrating changes of +4.71% and +3.29%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. 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 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, Accenture possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Accenture is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.9. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 22.37.
Investors should also note that ACN has a PEG ratio of 3.47 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Consulting Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.41.
The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 202, this industry ranks in the bottom 20% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
