Accenture stock price target lowered to $313 at TD Cowen on FY26 guidance concerns

Investing.com - TD Cowen has reduced its price target on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) to $313.00 from $342.00 while maintaining a Buy rating ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report scheduled for September 25. According to InvestingPro data, the stock appears slightly undervalued at current levels, with shares down over 26% year-to-date.

The firm adjusted its estimates across organic growth, acquisitions, and foreign exchange factors, citing concerns that consensus estimates for fiscal year 2026 have not been sufficiently trimmed despite previous warnings.

TD Cowen expects Accenture’s fourth-quarter results to meet expectations but anticipates the company will issue fiscal year 2026 constant currency growth guidance in the range of 1-4%, below current Street consensus of 4.6% year-over-year growth.

The research firm noted that investor feedback generally acknowledges this guidance risk, suggesting it may already be factored into market expectations, though the firm believes current share and sector pressure appears excessive.

Despite maintaining its Buy rating, TD Cowen indicated it sees no urgency to take a more positive stance ahead of the earnings report, preferring to wait for this "clearing event" due to unpredictable elements in bookings and potential pressure related to DOGE (digital, optimization, generative AI, and enterprise) initiatives.

In other recent news, Accenture reported a 12% year-over-year increase in earnings per share, reaching $3.49, alongside a 7% revenue growth in local currency, totaling $17.7 billion for the third quarter of 2025. Despite these positive earnings results, Rothschild Redburn downgraded Accenture’s stock rating from Buy to Neutral, citing concerns that growth in other business areas may offset potential gains from generative AI spending. Additionally, Accenture has been active in strategic acquisitions and investments to enhance its capabilities. The company acquired UK-based MomentumABM to strengthen its B2B marketing strategies and integrated 90 specialists into Accenture Song. Accenture also acquired the U.S.-based social agency Superdigital to bolster its social marketing capabilities. Furthermore, Accenture invested in CLIKA, an AI compression platform, to expand its intelligent edge capabilities. These strategic moves reflect Accenture’s ongoing efforts to enhance its marketing and technological capabilities in the evolving market landscape.

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