Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) closed at $25.51, marking a +0.12% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.02%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.71%.

Heading into today, shares of the nation's second-largest bank had lost 5.35% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's loss of 0.85% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.39% in that time.

BAC will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, BAC is projected to report earnings of $0.43 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 23.21%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $20.76 billion, down 8.99% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.62 per share and revenue of $86.47 billion, which would represent changes of -41.09% and -5.24%, 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.81% higher. BAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, BAC currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.69. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.21, which means BAC is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, BAC's PEG ratio is currently 2.24. 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 2.24 as of yesterday's close.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 224, putting it in the bottom 12% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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