Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Has Halliburton (HAL) Outpaced Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Halliburton (HAL - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Halliburton is one of 253 companies in the Oils-Energy group. The Oils-Energy group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Halliburton is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HAL's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, HAL has returned 39.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 36.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Halliburton is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Oils-Energy sector, Murphy USA (MUSA - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 49.3%.

The consensus estimate for Murphy USA's current year EPS has increased 27.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Halliburton belongs to the Oil and Gas - Field Services industry, a group that includes 26 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.5% so far this year, so HAL is performing better in this area.

Murphy USA, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #4. The industry has moved +39.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to Halliburton and Murphy USA as they could maintain their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Halliburton Company (HAL) - free report >>

Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA) - free report >>

Published in