Market Update: Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) – Accenture (ACN) Stock Climbs Ahead of Earnings Results

[at TheStreet] – Accenture (ACN) stock is gaining ahead of the company’s first quarter fiscal 2016 earnings results, due out before the market open on Thursday. Read more on this. Accenture plc (ACN) , valued at $68.54B, started trading this morning at $107.32. Looking at today’s market, ACN one day range is $106.84 to $109.22 and has traded between $82.85 and $109.86 over the past 12 months. Accenture (ACN) shares are currently priced at 20.48x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 7.90x earnings multiple for the same period. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $2.20 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.09%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 23 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.32 per share, which would be $0.03 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $5.21 would be a $0.39 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $7.92 Billion. If realized, that would be a 0.25% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Initiated ACN at Buy (Jul 16, 2015). Previously, Robert W. Baird downgraded ACN from Outperform to Neutral. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $108.57, which is 1.16% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:ACN) Similar Articles: Company Update: Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) – Accenture Launches Advanced Analytics Applications for the Utilities, Oil and Gas, Chemicals, Metals and Mining Industries Market Update: Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) – Accenture Named to 2016 List of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for Fifth Consecutive Year Market Update (NYSE:ACN): Accenture Positioned as a Leader in 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Analytics Services, Worldwide