Gartner, Inc.
IT
shares have had an impressive run over the past six months. The stock rallied 33.7% compared with the 1.7% rise of the
industry
it belongs to and the 2.5% decline of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
Reasons for the Upside
Gartner research reports have become indispensable tools for diverse companies across different sectors, strengthening its leading position in the market. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze troves of data, Gartner draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide key insights and decision-support solutions for an informed decision-making process. These insights are typically drawn from a critical fact base, collated from interactions with clients in more than 15,000 distinct organizations worldwide.
Gartner has a large and diverse addressable market with low customer concentration that mitigates operating risks. Operating in an industry with low barriers to entry, Gartner has an integrated research and consulting team designed to best serve client needs. This enables it to have a competitive advantage against its rivals. Leveraging the breadth and depth of its intellectual capital, Gartner creates and distributes proprietary research content as broadly as possible.
Gartner’s endeavor to reward its shareholders in the form of share repurchases is appreciable. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, Gartner repurchased 7.3 million, 1.2 million and 1.4 million shares for $1.7 billion, $176.3 million and $199 million, respectively. Such moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in business. Also, these moves help instill investors’ confidence in the stock and positively impact earnings per share.
Favorable Estimates Revision
The direction of estimate revisions serves as an important pointer when it comes to the price of a stock. Three estimates for 2023 have moved north over the past 60 days versus no southward revisions, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the company.
Over the same period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings has climbed more than 2%.
Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider
Gartner currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks
Business Services
sector are
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation
BAH
and
Cross Country Healthcare, Inc.
CCRN
.
Booz Allen carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. BAH has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 8.9%.
Booz Allen delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.8% on average.
Cross Country Healthcare is currently a Zacks #2 Ranked stock. CCRN has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 6%.
CCRN delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.1% on average.
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