Olivier Le Moal Author's Note: This is our monthly series on Dividend Stocks, usually published in the first week of every month. We scan the universe of roughly 7,500 stocks listed and traded on U.S. exchanges and use our proprietary filtering criteria to select five relatively safe stocks that may be trading cheaper compared to their historical valuations. Some sections in the article, like “Selection Process/Methodology,” are repeated each month with few changes. This is intentional as well as unavoi ...

Today, we will discuss three recent analyst upgrades on Wall Street. Earnings season is in full swing, and the market is navigating volatility and uncertainty. The current market choppiness highlights the need for diversifying portfolios to include robust shares that may get analyst upgrades. On July 24, stocks sold off following underwhelming reports from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), causing the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite to post their worst sessions since 2022.With ...

When preparing your finances for your retirement, growth stocks are one of the top “go-tos.” If they pan out as expected, they can provide a reliable base of money to pull from when needed.So from the thousands of stocks currently floating on the market, which are the best growth stocks to buy?Well, if it were simple, everyone would be doing it. But there are criteria to look out for when choosing the growth stocks to invest in.The first thing is not to jump on the flavor of the month. Yes, Nvidia (NASDAQ:N ...

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Accenture (ACN) .Accenture currently has an average brokerage recommendati ...

A lack of detail about the company's latest acquisition left some investors cold.The stock of tech-focused consultancy Accenture (ACN -0.88%) couldn't quite keep pace with the rest of the equity market on Wednesday. The company's shares closed the day nearly 1% lower, on news that it's opening its wallet to buy a cutting-edge technology business. By comparison, the benchmark S&P 500 index landed in positive territory at roughly the same percentage rate.Boosting its chip design expertiseAccenture's new asset ...

USA News Group  Commentary Issued on behalf of Avant Technologies Inc. VANCOUVER, BC, June 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group – The world is changing rapidly thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), with what's being called the Transformative AI era which comes with great benefits and also potential dangers. The economic impacts are global, with a new report from The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) urging central banks to adapt rapidly to AI advances. Now it's become apparent how important it i ...

Core Insights - Accenture's total revenue for the quarter ending May 2024 was $16.47 billion, reflecting a decline of 0.6% year-over-year [2] - The company's international operations are crucial for assessing its financial health and growth potential, especially in the context of a global economy [1] International Revenue Breakdown - Growth Markets contributed 17.3% of total revenue, amounting to $2.86 billion, which was a decline of 8.28% compared to expectations of $3.11 billion [3] - Europe generated $5.78 billion, accounting for 35.1% of total revenue, slightly below the consensus estimate of $5.87 billion [3] - In the previous quarter, Growth Markets and Europe contributed $2.82 billion (17.9%) and $5.6 billion (35.4%) respectively [3] Future Revenue Expectations - Analysts project total revenue of $16.26 billion for the current fiscal quarter, indicating a 1.7% increase year-over-year [4] - Expected contributions from Growth Markets and Europe for the current quarter are 18.6% ($3.03 billion) and 35.9% ($5.84 billion) respectively [4] - For the full year, total revenue is anticipated to reach $65.12 billion, a 1.6% increase from the previous year, with Growth Markets and Europe expected to contribute 17.8% ($11.6 billion) and 35.5% ($23.11 billion) respectively [4] Market Sentiment and Stock Performance - Accenture's reliance on international markets presents both opportunities and challenges, necessitating close monitoring of revenue trends [5] - The stock has increased by 2.7% over the past month, matching the rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite, but has seen a decline of 10.9% over the past three months [8] - The Zacks Rank currently indicates a 4 (Sell) rating for Accenture, suggesting potential underperformance relative to the broader market [7]

Core Viewpoint - The average brokerage recommendation (ABR) for Accenture (ACN) is 1.80, indicating a general suggestion to buy the stock, but reliance solely on this metric may not be advisable due to potential biases in brokerage recommendations [1][2][4]. Group 1: Brokerage Recommendations - Accenture's ABR is based on 25 brokerage firms, with 14 Strong Buy and 2 Buy recommendations, translating to 56% and 8% of total recommendations respectively [1]. - Studies indicate that brokerage recommendations often lack success in guiding investors towards stocks with significant price appreciation potential [2][4]. - Brokerage firms tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings, with a ratio of five Strong Buy recommendations for every Strong Sell [2][3]. Group 2: Zacks Rank vs. ABR - Zacks Rank is a distinct measure from ABR, focusing on earnings estimate revisions and providing a more timely indicator of stock price performance [4][5]. - The Zacks Rank categorizes stocks from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell) and is based on empirical research correlating earnings estimate revisions with near-term stock price movements [5]. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Accenture has declined by 1.1% over the past month, leading to a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) for the company, suggesting caution despite the favorable ABR [6].

Core Insights - Accenture Plc reported disappointing third-quarter earnings, with sales of $16.47 billion, slightly below analyst consensus of $16.55 billion, reflecting a 1% year-over-year decline in U.S. dollars but a 1.4% increase in local currency [1] - Adjusted EPS of $3.13 fell short of the analyst consensus of $3.15 [1] - The company achieved significant milestones in Generative AI, with $2 billion in sales year-to-date and $500 million in revenue year-to-date [1] - Accenture plans for fourth-quarter revenues between $16.05 billion and $16.65 billion, slightly below consensus of $16.56 billion, and expects fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS of $11.85 to $12.00, compared to consensus of $12.10 [1] Revenue and Earnings Guidance - Fourth-quarter revenue guidance is set at $16.05 billion to $16.65 billion, with a consensus of $16.56 billion [1] - Fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS guidance is revised to $11.85 to $12.00 from a prior range of $11.97 to $12.20, against a consensus of $12.10 [1] - Revenue growth for fiscal 2024 is expected to be between 1.5% and 2.5% in local currency, revised from a prior range of 1% to 3% [1] Analyst Reactions - Following the earnings report, Accenture shares increased by 1% to $309.13 [2] - BMO Capital reduced its price target from $375 to $350 while maintaining a Market Perform rating [2] - Susquehanna lowered its price target from $360 to $350, keeping a Neutral rating [2] - TD Cowen adjusted its price target from $294 to $293, maintaining a Hold rating [2]

Core Viewpoint - Accenture's stock appears undervalued at 20 times free cash flow despite a slight earnings miss in Q3 2024, with strong growth in new bookings and a positive outlook for future sales growth [1][2][3] Group 1: Earnings Performance - Accenture reported Q3 earnings of $3.13 per share, slightly below the analyst forecast of $3.15, with sales of $16.5 billion, matching expectations [1][2] - Year-over-year sales declined by 1%, while GAAP earnings decreased by 3% to $3.03 per share [2] - Operating profit margin improved by nearly 2 percentage points to 16% [2] Group 2: Future Outlook - Accenture anticipates a 2% year-over-year sales growth for the full fiscal year 2024, with an expected operating profit margin of 14.8% [3] - The company projects GAAP earnings between $11.29 and $11.44, with adjusted earnings around $11.93, slightly below the analyst forecast of $12.08 [3] Group 3: New Business and AI Growth - New bookings for the quarter increased by 22% to $21.1 billion, indicating a potential return to sales growth [2] - Generative AI new bookings reached $900 million in Q3 and $2 billion year-to-date, representing a 50% increase compared to the average of the previous two quarters [2] Group 4: Valuation Metrics - With an estimated free cash flow of around $9 billion and a market cap of $180 billion, Accenture's price-to-free-cash-flow ratio stands at 20, suggesting the stock is not expensive [3] - If Accenture can convert its 22% bookings growth into equivalent earnings growth, it could present a strong buying opportunity [3]