Halliburton (HAL) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
Halliburton (HAL) closed the most recent trading day at $34.87, moving -0.51% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.75% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.55%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.01%.
Coming into today, shares of the provider of drilling services to oil and gas operators had lost 4.78% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector lost 5.74%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.49%.
Halliburton will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.66, up 83.33% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.57 billion, up 30.25% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.10 per share and revenue of $20.29 billion, which would represent changes of +94.44% and +32.63%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Halliburton should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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 1.01% higher within the past month. Halliburton is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Halliburton has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.68 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 22.07, which means Halliburton is trading at a discount to the group.
The Oil and Gas - Field Services industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 22, putting it in the top 9% 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.
To follow HAL in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Halliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
