Core & Main (CNM) closed the last trading day at $49.78, down 1.13% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.38%. At the same time, the Dow gained 0.61% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.03%.

Shares of the water and fire protection products distributor fell 7.14 percent last month, lagging behind the Business Services sector’s 1.9 percent loss and the S&P 500’s 3.2 percent loss.

The investment community will be closely watching Core & Main’s performance in its upcoming earnings report. In that report, analysts expect Core & Main to report earnings of $0.73 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 10.61%. At the same time, our latest consensus estimate is for revenue of $2.03 billion, an increase of 9.04% from the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimates for the full year are calling for earnings of $2.32 per share and revenue of $7.47 billion, which would represent year-over-year changes of +7.91% and +11.42%, respectively.

Investors may also notice recent changes in analyst estimates for Core & Main. These changes help to highlight the constant change in near-term business trends. Therefore, positive estimate changes convey analysts’ confidence in the company’s business performance and earnings potential.

Our research shows that these estimate revisions are directly related to future stock price performance. Investors can take advantage of this by using the Zacks Rank. This model takes these estimate changes into account and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an admirable track record of superior performance that is independently audited. #1-ranked stocks have delivered an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has remained stable. Currently, Core & Main has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

In terms of valuation, Core & Main is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 21.67. This valuation represents a discount to the industry average P/E ratio of 28.17.

We can also see that CNM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.9. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. As of yesterday’s close, the Waste Management Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.58.

The Waste Management Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, putting it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.

The story continues

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within those groups. Our research shows that the top 50% of industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

For more information on all of these metrics and more, visit Zacks.com.

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