In the latest trading session, IBM (IBM) closed at $120.31, marking a -1.04% move from the previous day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.66% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.03%.
Coming into today, shares of the technology and consulting company had lost 6.88% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 5.28%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.43%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from IBM as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 17, 2019. On that day, IBM is projected to report earnings of $4.86 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 6.18%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $21.77 billion, down 3.45% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $13.81 per share and revenue of $79.56 billion, which would represent changes of +0.07% and +0.53%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for IBM. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about 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, 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 0.05% lower. IBM is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, IBM is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.8. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.04.
Investors should also note that IBM has a PEG ratio of 1.77 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. IBM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.77 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 168, which puts it in the bottom 35% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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