Accenture (ACN) closed at $255.37 in the latest trading session, marking a -4.39% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.6%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.23%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.24%.
Shares of the consulting company witnessed a loss of 12.36% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its gain of 4.45%, and the S&P 500's gain of 2.25%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Accenture in its upcoming release. On that day, Accenture is projected to report earnings of $2.98 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.81%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $17.33 billion, indicating a 5.6% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.88 per share and revenue of $69.4 billion, which would represent changes of +7.78% and +6.94%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Accenture. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% lower. Right now, Accenture possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Accenture is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 20.74. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.5.
We can also see that ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.43. 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 Computers – IT Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.9.
The Computers – IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, positioning it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
