Shares of Praxair Inc. (NYSE:PX) reached a new 52-week high of $129.96 during its trading session on May 12. This apex improved upon the last 52-week high of $129.53 on May 5.
Post the release of first-quarter 2017 results on Apr 27, shares of the company yielded 3.38% return, as against 1.24% decline recorded by the Zacks categorized Chemicals Diversified industry.
On May 12, the company closed its trading session at $129.72, yielding year-to-date return of roughly 10.7%. The trading volume for the session was 1.1 million shares. Positive earnings estimate revisions for 2017 and 2018, along with an expected earnings growth rate of 12% for the next five years indicate the stock’s potential for further price appreciation.
Growth Drivers
Praxair’s financial performance was impressive in three of last four quarters, as evident from an average positive earnings surprise of 1.67%. In the first quarter, the company’s earnings of $1.37 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 by 3.01%.
In 2017, Praxair anticipates benefiting from a talented workforce, sound product portfolio and new project wins. Base volume growth is predicted to be in sync with the prevailing macro conditions. Also, a solid backlog of $1.5 billion exiting the first quarter clearly reflects customers’ preference for the company’s world-class technology, high-quality products and gas supply services.
The company increased the lower-end of its previous guidance range of $5.45–$5.80 per share by 10 cents to $5.55–$5.80. Excluding 1% negative impact of foreign currency headwinds, earnings are predicted to grow 2–7% year over year. For the second quarter, the company expects earnings in the range of $1.38–$1.43 per share.
Estimate Revisions Show Potency
Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Praxair increased 0.2% to $5.73 for 2017 and 0.2% to $6.26 for 2018. Also, these estimates represent year-over-year growth of 4.5% for 2017 and 9.4% for 2018.
With a market capitalization of $37 billion, Praxair currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the chemicals industry include Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) , Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO) and BASF SE (OTC:BASFY) , each boasting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Huntsman Corporation’s earnings estimates for 2017 and 2018 were revised upward over the last 60 days. Also, its average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 20.12%.
Kronos Worldwide’s financial performance in three out of last four quarters was impressive, with an average positive earnings surprise of 64.14%. Also, its earnings estimates for 2017 improved over the last 60 days.
BASF SE’s average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 3.02%. Also, its earnings estimates for 2017 and 2018 improved in the last 60 days.
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BASF SE (BASFY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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