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Accenture (ACN) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

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Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $315.63, indicating a -1.27% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.22%.

The consulting company's shares have seen an increase of 5.92% over the last month, surpassing the Business Services sector's gain of 0.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.42%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Accenture in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on December 19, 2023. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $3.11, marking a 0.97% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $16.23 billion, showing a 3.07% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.10 per share and revenue of $66.56 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.68% and +3.81%, respectively, from last year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Accenture. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. 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.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.08% lower. Accenture presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Accenture is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.42. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.96.

Investors should also note that ACN has a PEG ratio of 2.97 right now. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Consulting Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.2.

The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 59, positioning it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.

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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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