DowDuPont (DWDP) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

DowDuPont (DWDP) closed at $52.72 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.11% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.36%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.36%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.34%.

Heading into today, shares of the specialty chemicals maker had lost 3.76% over the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector's loss of 1.76% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.64% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from DWDP as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.93, down 16.96% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $20.06 billion, down 6.75% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.05 per share and revenue of $84.53 billion. These totals would mark changes of -1.46% and -1.69%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for DWDP. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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 1.11% lower. DWDP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Digging into valuation, DWDP currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.99. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.84, which means DWDP is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, DWDP's PEG ratio is currently 1.3. 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 Chemical - Diversified was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.99 at yesterday's closing price.

The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 214, putting it in the bottom 17% 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.

To follow DWDP in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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