Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

JNJ

In the latest trading session, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) closed at $160.98, marking a +0.12% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.17% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.37%.

The world's biggest maker of health care products's shares have seen an increase of 0.9% over the last month, not keeping up with the Medical sector's gain of 5.86% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.8%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Johnson & Johnson in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.64, indicating a 1.49% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $21.38 billion, indicating a 13.59% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $10.65 per share and a revenue of $88.38 billion, signifying shifts of +7.36% and -4.99%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Johnson & Johnson. 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.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% lower within the past month. At present, Johnson & Johnson boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Johnson & Johnson is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.09. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.09, which means Johnson & Johnson is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.

One should further note that JNJ currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.7. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. JNJ's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.72 as of yesterday's close.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, placing it within the bottom 30% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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