After U.S. markets close on Tuesday and before they open again Wednesday morning, Costco and Paychex will report quarterly earnings results.
Here is a look at three companies set to release results late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Accenture
Management and technology consulting giant Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) is the largest firm (by market cap) in the IT services industry, bigger than IBM and 65 other rivals. The firm reports quarterly results on Thursday morning.
For the year to date, shares have increased about 19%. A disappointing forecast that was part of the company’s May quarter report put the brakes on a rising share price and the shares have been stalled since that late June earnings report. Accenture also needs to pump up its efforts and successes in AI if it wants investors to get interested in the stock again.
Of 26 brokerages covering the stock, 15 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and 10 more rate it at Hold. At a recent share price of about $317.00, the upside potential based on a median price target of $347.00 is 9.5%. At the high target of $390.00, the potential upside is about 23%.
Analysts are expecting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $16.07 billion, which would be down 3.0% sequentially but up by 4.2% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter are forecast at $2.63, down 16.4% sequentially and 1.2% higher year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year that ended in August, analysts have forecast EPS of $11.52, up 6.4%, on revenue of $64.21 billion, up 4.3%.
Accenture shares trade at 27.5 times expected 2023 EPS, 25.6 times estimated 2024 earnings of $12.38 and 23.4 times estimated 2025 earnings of $13.54 per share. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $242.80 to $330.44. The company pays an annual dividend of $4.48 (yield of 1.42%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 23.90%.
24/7 Wall St.CarMax
Shares of used car retailer CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) have jumped nearly 28% so far in 2023. The bad news is the stock began the year in such a deep hole that the stock is down about 2% for the past 12 months. CarMax reports quarterly results early Thursday.
Monday’s ratings boost to Outperform from a Wedbush analyst gave the shares a nice 1.5% jolt just ahead of its earnings release. Profitability is expected to return due to cost-cutting and an end to share buybacks. And the longer the UAW strike goes on at the Detroit Three, the more valuable used cars become.
Of 19 analysts covering CarMax stock, nine have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and another seven have Hold ratings. At a share price of around $78.00, the implied gain based on a median price target of $82.00 is 5.1%. At the high price target of $135.00, the upside potential is 73.1%.
Fiscal second-quarter revenue is forecast at $7.03 billion, down 8.6% sequentially and by 13.6% year over year. Adjusted EPS are expected to come in at $0.78, down 46% sequentially and a penny lower year over year. For the full 2024 fiscal year ending in February, CarMax is expected to report EPS of $3.07, up 1.4%, on sales of $27.33 billion, down 8%.
CarMax stock trades at 25.3 times expected 2024 EPS, 20.2 times estimated 2025 earnings of $3.85 and 14.5 times estimated 2026 earnings of $5.38 per share. The 52-week trading range is $52.10 to $87.50. CarMax does not pay a dividend, and total shareholder return over the past 12 months is negative 2.16%.
Micron
Shares of semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) have added almost 37% to their share price over the past 12 months, all of it in 2023. The stock reached a new 52-week high at the end of May but has dropped by about $5.50 per share since then. Micron reports results for its fiscal fourth quarter after markets close Wednesday.
Revenue rose slightly in the May quarter, ending a four-quarter streak of lower-than-expected totals, and that increase is forecast to have improved in the August quarter. Supply has been brought more into line with demand as Micron, and the other memory chip makers, have reduced production. A new Micron high bandwidth memory chip is expected to begin shipping early next year and that should help the company win back market share.
Of 38 analysts covering the stock, 28 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, while another 7 rate it at Hold. At a share price of around $68.50, the upside potential based on a median price target of $80.00 is 16.8%. At the high target of $100.00, upside potential is 46%.
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