Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $210.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.32% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ACN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Accenture from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.04.

Accenture Stock Down 1.5%

Accenture stock opened at $167.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture has a 52-week low of $155.82 and a 52-week high of $317.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $181.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.68.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $26,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.