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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) closed at $196.76, marking a +0.2% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.45%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.51%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.42%.

Heading into today, shares of the company had lost 3.02% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's loss of 0.84% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.64% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from BRK.B as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 22, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.23, up 65.19% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for BRK.B. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.56% higher. BRK.B is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Investors should also note BRK.B's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.86. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.37.

Also, we should mention that BRK.B has a PEG ratio of 2.69. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Insurance - Property and Casualty was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.09 at yesterday's closing price.

The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, which puts it in the bottom 29% 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.

To follow BRK.B in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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