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20

5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Accenture

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, global consulting giant Accenture (NYSE: ACN  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Accenture's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Accenture facts

Headquarters (founded)

Hamilton, Bermuda (1995)

Market Cap

$18.6 billion

Industry

IT consulting and other services

TTM Revenue

$25.28 billion

Management

CEO William Green (since 2004)
CFO Pamela Craig (since 2006)

Return on Capital (average, last three years)

64.9%

Dividend Yield

1.7%

Competitors

IBM (NYSE: IBM  )
Infosys

CAPS members bullish on ACN also bullish on

General Electric (NYSE: GE  )
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  )

CAPS members bearish on ACN also bearish on

Citigroup (NYSE: C  )
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  )

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, 1,082 of the 1,127 members who have rated Accenture -- some 96% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include pmgwbp and "All-Star" pick compiler AllStarPortfolio.

Last week, pmgwbp tapped the stock as an international turnaround opportunity: "[S]trong fundamentals, strong cash flow and cash on hand. Global consulting will continue to book business during recession and rebound quickly when recession ends."

In a write-up from one day later, AllStarPortfolio (using a pick and pitch from russiangambit) further accentuates Accenture's positives:

[B]est in class IT consulting and outsourcing company, head and shoulders above all its other competitors. The next closest competitor is IBM. You can think of them as [Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) ] of IT consulting in terms of talent.

The company has shown consistency in its earnings and still has a lot of growth potential should the economy turn. Its price currently at a depressed level, but the fact that it wasn’t completely obliterated in the sell off (only lost 30% vs. 50-70%) is a sign of resilience. Current P/E is 10. The company pays dividend of about 1.5%.

What do you think about Accenture, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Accenture and Microsoft are Motley Fool Inside Value picks. Johnson & Johnson is a selection of Income Investor. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.


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5/25/2012 4:03 PM
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