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PetroChina (PTR) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, PetroChina closed at $52.66, marking a +0.73% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 2.47% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.76%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.71%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the oil and gas company had gained 7.33% over the past month. This has lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 14.17% and outpaced the S&P 500's loss of 2.59% in that time.

PetroChina will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release.

PTR's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $11.16 per share and revenue of $464.89 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +44% and +14.66%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for PetroChina. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 10.61% higher. PetroChina is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, PetroChina is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 4.69. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.21.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 57, which puts it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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