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Capital One (COF) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Capital One (COF - Free Report) closed at $148.58 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.81% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 2.07% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.4%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.49%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the credit card issuer and bank had lost 6.16% over the past month. This has lagged the Finance sector's loss of 3.66% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.08% in that time.

Capital One will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.15, down 2.65% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.87 billion, up 7.21% from the year-ago period.

COF's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $26.45 per share and revenue of $30.15 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +409.63% and +5.7%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Capital One. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.01% higher. Capital One is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Capital One's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 5.52. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 5.94, so we one might conclude that Capital One is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, COF's PEG ratio is currently 0.26. 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. COF's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.26 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial - Consumer Loans industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, putting it in the top 35% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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 COF in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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