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Abbott (ABT) closed the most recent trading day at $131.30, moving -0.15% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.67%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.61%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs had gained 1.64% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.06% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 10.65% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Abbott will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect Abbott to post earnings of $1.25 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 9.65%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $11.04 billion, showing a 6.38% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $5.16 per share and a revenue of $44.66 billion, signifying shifts of +10.49% and +6.47%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Abbott. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Abbott presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Abbott is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 25.5. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 18.13.
It is also worth noting that ABT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.48. 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. Medical - Products stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.1 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 154, placing it within the bottom 38% of over 250 industries.