Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Bank of America (BAC) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) closed at $26.59 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.53% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.86%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.63%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.95%.

Coming into today, shares of the nation's second-largest bank had lost 13.08% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 8.94%, while the S&P 500 lost 8.85%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from BAC as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 16, 2019. On that day, BAC is projected to report earnings of $0.65 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 38.3%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $22.43 billion, up 9.75% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.55 per share and revenue of $91.22 billion, which would represent changes of +39.34% and +4.43%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for BAC. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.1% higher. BAC currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, BAC currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.27. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.87.

It is also worth noting that BAC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.28. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Banks - Major Regional industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.12 as of yesterday's close.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Bank of America Corporation (BAC) - free report >>

Published in