Tax and accounting software giant Intuit (
NASDAQ:INTU) set a new all-time record high in trading yesterday. Though the company has given back some of those gains in today's session—likely some profit-taking at work—the company is still up substantially on the week and nearly any other measure as well. With financial analysts squarely in Intuit's corner as well, the company has a lot to like about it, helping to justify its premium valuation in the market.
A Recent SEC Filing Gives Intuit a Surge
The biggest reason for Intuit hitting its 52-week high yesterday, as well as its all-time high as well, likely stems from a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The filing noted that the company's customer acquisition rate for the nine months that ended April 30 of this year was up 25% against the same time the previous year. The company's customer retention rates are also doing well, reports note, as demand for its tax products continues apace. The company's acquisition of Credit Karma last year gave Intuit an extra 110 million users to add to its 57 million user base at the time.
Looking at Intuit's other fundamentals also helps drive interest. The latest consensus for full-year 2021 earnings is around $9.35, as based on reports from Zacks. Based on the preceding year's numbers, that expects about a 19% growth rate. Long-term earnings per share growth rates, meanwhile, are estimated in the 14.8% range. It's also worth pointing out that Intuit has beat estimates for earnings figures in each of the preceding four quarters, suggesting that the company can beat earnings estimates fairly handily. Financial analysts have already responded by raising their estimates for both the 2021 and the 2022 fiscal year, though there is a chance these raises will not prove sufficient to match Intuit's actual earnings.
Finally, it's clear that Intuit has even grown faster than other firms in the sector. Reports note that Intuit shares are up 68.5% on the last year, as compared to the Zacks Computer – Software industry index, with 36.8% growth.
What Does the Intuit Stock Forecast Look Like to Financial Analysts?
Intuit has had an excellent run of things lately, and financial analysts were largely expecting good results out of Intuit stock news. The company has a consensus rating of “buy”, based on our latest research, and has held that rating for better than the last two years now.
A year ago, the company had 15 “buy” ratings to its credit, along with two “hold” ratings and one “sell”. Six months ago, that shifted to 15 “buy”, three “hold” and one “sell”. Today, we stand at 18 “buy” ratings, five “hold” and no “sell” ratings at all. The fact that “buy” ratings have increased is a positive development, and while the increase in “hold” will likely catch some attention, the complete lack of “sell” presence in the rating pool is telling in its own right.
The Intuit price target, meanwhile, has a fairly close range given its valuation. The company has a consensus price target of $464 per share, with a high of $540 and a low of $383. With Intuit stock trading at $474.19 as of this writing, there is some downside potential to the stock.
Recent action from analysts, meanwhile, has been commonly positive. The latest development came in from Exane BNP Paribas, who upgraded Intuit from “underperform” to “neutral”. A day before that, however, with nine financial analysts raising price targets on the company. One of those boosts came from Barclays, which upgraded its price target from $482 to $540, making that previously-mentioned high a recent development. Perhaps more telling yet, each of those analysts carried a “buy” or similarly positive outlook on the company.
With reports suggesting that Intuit is currently part of 68 different hedge funds' portfolios as of the end of March—though not showing in the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds—it's clear that Intuit is a quietly popular stock that likely has more room to grow.
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