First Solar (FSLR) closed the latest trading day at $128.46, indicating a -0.68% change from the previous session's end. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.03%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.33%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had lost 20.41% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 1.22%, while the S&P 500 lost 7.48%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of First Solar in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.82, up 28.18% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $866.58 million, indicating a 9.13% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $18.85 per share and revenue of $5.52 billion, which would represent changes of +56.82% and +31.16%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for First Solar. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an 8.97% decrease. Currently, First Solar is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, First Solar is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 6.86. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 10.67, so one might conclude that First Solar is trading at a discount comparatively.
One should further note that FSLR currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.18. 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. The Solar industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.54 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, finds itself in the top 30% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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