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Accenture (ACN) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $279.31, marking a -1.44% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.81% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.15%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.47%.

Coming into today, shares of the consulting company had lost 10.55% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector lost 6.38%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.82%.

Accenture will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be June 23, 2022. On that day, Accenture is projected to report earnings of $2.84 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 18.33%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $16.06 billion, up 21.12% from the year-ago period.

ACN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $10.80 per share and revenue of $62.08 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +22.73% and +22.85%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Accenture is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Looking at its valuation, Accenture is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 26.24. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.18.

It is also worth noting that ACN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.62. 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. ACN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.29 as of yesterday's close.

The Consulting Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 28, putting it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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