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Why Quanta Services (PWR) Dipped More Than Broader Market Today

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Quanta Services (PWR - Free Report) closed at $656.79 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.56% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.45% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.16%.

The stock of specialty contractor for utility and energy companies has fallen by 2.85% in the past month, lagging the Construction sector's gain of 2.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.14%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Quanta Services in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Quanta Services to post earnings of $3.29 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 32.66%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.53 billion, up 25.87% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.03 per share and revenue of $34.77 billion, which would represent changes of +30.51% and +22.07%, respectively, from the prior year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Quanta Services. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Quanta Services currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Quanta Services is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 48.04. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 25.53.

It's also important to note that PWR currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.42. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. PWR's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.63 as of yesterday's close.

The Engineering - R and D Services industry is part of the Construction sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, finds itself in the top 39% echelons 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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