Intuit (INTU) closed at $393.25 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.59% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.2% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.79%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.52%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and other accounting software had lost 14.97% lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 8.24% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.15%.
The upcoming earnings release of Intuit will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $12.48, reflecting a 7.12% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $8.52 billion, showing a 9.87% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $23.15 per share and revenue of $21.18 billion, indicating changes of +14.89% and +12.46%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Intuit. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. At present, Intuit boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Intuit is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.72. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.24, so one might conclude that Intuit is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that INTU has a PEG ratio of 1.17 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer - Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.53.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 59, positioning it in the top 25% 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 INTU in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Intuit Inc. (INTU): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).