Bank of America (BAC) closed the most recent trading day at $27.76, moving +0.04% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.15% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 0%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the nation's second-largest bank had lost 0.61% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector's gain of 0.5% and was narrower than the S&P 500's loss of 1.27% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from BAC as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 16, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.64, up 36.17% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $22.39 billion, up 9.55% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $2.55 per share and revenue of $91.18 billion. These totals would mark changes of +39.34% and +4.38%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for BAC should also be noted by investors. 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. 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.37% higher. BAC is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, BAC currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.89. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.6.
Investors should also note that BAC has a PEG ratio of 1.36 right now. 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. 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 group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, putting it in the top 30% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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