Yahoo Finance Abbott (ABT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Abbott (ABT) closed the most recent trading day at $102, moving +0.29% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.61% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.41%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 10.45%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had lost 8.78% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 4.16% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.05% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Abbott as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.04, down 27.27% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $9.67 billion, down 14.08% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.38 per share and revenue of $39.38 billion. These totals would mark changes of -17.98% and -9.8%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Abbott. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.07% higher within the past month. Abbott is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Abbott's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 23.21. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.11, so we one might conclude that Abbott is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.56. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Products was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.44 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% of all 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.
To follow ABT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
