In the latest trading session, Dow Inc. (DOW) closed at $37.44, marking a -0.9% move from the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.78%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.99%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.61%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the materials science had lost 0.45% over the past month. This has lagged the Basic Materials sector's loss of 0.13% and was narrower than the S&P 500's loss of 3.48% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Dow Inc. in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.11, down 80.36% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $10.29 billion, reflecting a 4.44% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.02 per share and a revenue of $42.81 billion, indicating changes of +18.13% and -0.36%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Dow Inc. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 10.76% downward. Dow Inc. is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Dow Inc. has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.69 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.44, so one might conclude that Dow Inc. is trading at a premium comparatively.

It's also important to note that DOW currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.99. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Chemical - Diversified industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.99.

The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 214, finds itself in the bottom 15% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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