Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Bank of America (BAC) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $29.94, moving -0.63% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.21%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.65%.

Coming into today, shares of the nation's second-largest bank had lost 3.24% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 0.56%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.86%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from BAC as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 15, 2018. On that day, BAC is projected to report earnings of $0.63 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 31.25%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $22.66 billion, up 3.74% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.52 per share and revenue of $91.52 billion. These totals would mark changes of +37.7% and +4.78%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for BAC should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower within the past month. BAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, BAC is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 11.95. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.41, so we one might conclude that BAC is trading at a discount comparatively.

We can also see that BAC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.49. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Banks - Major Regional stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.22 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Banks - Major Regional industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 116, which puts it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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 >>