In the latest trading session, Cisco Systems (CSCO) closed at $47.77, marking a +1.32% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500’s 0.01% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.26%.
Coming into today, shares of the seller of routers, switches, software and services had gained 10.86% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 5.38%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.23%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from CSCO as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be November 21, 2018. On that day, CSCO is projected to report earnings of $0.72 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 18.03%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $12.78 billion, up 5.33% from the year-ago period.
CSCO’s full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.95 per share and revenue of $51.22 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +13.46% and +3.83%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for CSCO. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-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 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.39% higher. CSCO is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that CSCO has a Forward P/E ratio of 17.78 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 28.69, which means CSCO is trading at a discount to the group.
Meanwhile, CSCO’s PEG ratio is currently 2.81. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. Computer – Networking stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.81 based on yesterday’s closing prices.
The Computer – Networking industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 172, which puts it in the bottom 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
