CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) closed at $57.18 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.41% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 5.18%. At the same time, the Dow lost 6.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 4.7%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager had lost 19.44% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 20.46% and the S&P 500's loss of 24.68% in that time.
CVS will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, CVS is projected to report earnings of $1.61 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 0.62%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $63.29 billion, up 2.67% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.13 per share and revenue of $259.37 billion, which would represent changes of +0.71% and +1.01%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for CVS. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% higher. CVS currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, CVS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.13. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 8.19, so we one might conclude that CVS is trading at a discount comparatively.
Investors should also note that CVS has a PEG ratio of 1.26 right now. 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 Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.26 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 59, putting it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow CVS in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Original post