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Accenture (ACN) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market: Important Facts to Note

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Accenture (ACN - Free Report) closed at $384.84 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.38% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.43%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 1.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.47%.

Heading into today, shares of the consulting company had gained 8.66% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.32% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.6% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Accenture will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on March 20, 2025. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.84, showcasing a 2.53% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $16.62 billion, reflecting a 5.21% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.73 per share and revenue of $68.72 billion, which would represent changes of +6.53% and +5.9%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Accenture. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.3% higher. Accenture is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, Accenture is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.66. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 28.78.

Investors should also note that ACN has a PEG ratio of 3.46 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 Computers - IT Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.53.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, finds itself in the top 29% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. 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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