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Gartner (IT) Stock Rallies 102.4% Year to Date: Here's Why

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Shares of Gartner Inc. (IT - Free Report) have gained 102.4% so far this year, ahead of 31.6% growth of the industry it belongs to and 18.2% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

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Let’s delve into the factors that have contributed to the company’s price performance:

Upbeat 2021 Guidance

Gartner raised its full-year 2021 guidance. The company now expects total revenues to be $4.57 billion compared with the prior guidance of $4.51 billion. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.62 billion is higher than the updated guidance.

Adjusted EPS is now anticipated to be $7.60 compared with the prior guidance of $6.25. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.83 lies higher than the updated guidance.

Adjusted EBITDA is now projected to be $1.16 billion compared with the prior guidance of $1 billion. Free cash flow is now anticipated to be $1.13 billion compared with the prior guidance of $850 million.

Consecutive Earnings & Revenue Beat

Gartner came up with better-than-expected earnings and revenue performance in the past four quarters. The company’s bottom line continued to benefit from improvement in operational efficiency. Strength across the Research and Consulting segments boosted the top line.

Diverse Addressable Market

Gartner has a large and diverse addressable market with low customer concentration, which helps in mitigating operating risks. Operating in an industry with low barriers to entry, Gartner has an integrated research and consulting team designed to best serve clients’ needs. This enables it to have a competitive advantage over its rivals. Leveraging the breadth and depth of its intellectual capital, Gartner creates and distributes proprietary research content as broadly as possible via published reports, interactive tools, facilitated peer networking, briefings, consulting and advisory services, and events. These facilitate a steadily improving revenue stream for the company.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Gartner currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are FLEETCOR , BGSF Inc. (BGSF - Free Report) and Avis Budget (CAR - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for FLEETCOR, BGSF and Avis Budget is pegged at 15.2%, 20% and 27.5%, respectively.


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