Why Morgan Stanley, Halliburton Company, Canadian Pacific, and Two Other Stocks Are Trending Today

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is trending after the service giant reported a surprise profit for its third quarter, with EPS of $0.01 versus analyst expectations of a loss of $0.07 per share. Revenue for the period fell by 31.4% year-over-year to $3.83 billion, missing the Street’s estimates by $70 million. Although weak oil prices continued to weigh on the top-line, Halliburton managed to beat on the bottom-line due to ‘relentlessly managing costs’. Also helping pad the numbers was the fact that the company’s primary North American market sales rose by 9% sequentially, the first rise since oil prices began crashing. As for the future, Haliburton’s management thinks ‘that things are getting better for us and our customers’. The number of funds from our database with holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) went up by eight quarter-over-quarter to 62 at the end of June.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA) (NYSE:CP) shares are lower in the pre-market after the railroad reported better-than-expected profit and revenue numbers for its third quarter. For the three months, Canadian Pacific earned $2.73 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion, beating the Street by $0.56 per share and $320 million. Sales declined 9.4% year-over-year due to a delayed grain harvest, lower crude volumes, persistent economic challenges and the strengthening Canadian dollar. Profits beat due to better sales and a solid operating ratio of 57.7%. As for guidance, management expects mid-single-digit EPS growth this year. Outlook is likely the reason for the stock decline given that the market was expecting better guidance. 31 top funds had a bullish position in Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA) (NYSE:CP) at the end of the second quarter, down 5 funds from the previous quarter.

A few days after it announced that it had struck a deal to sell its Save-A-Lot business,  SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) is in the spotlight again after the company reported in-line fiscal second-quarter EPS of $0.10 per share. Revenue for the period came in at $3.87 billion, $80 million below the consensus estimate, and was down by 4.7% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA for the period amounted to $147 million, and the company reduced outstanding debt by around $100 million during the quarter. A total of 28 funds from our database had a bullish position in SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) at the end of June, unchanged from the previous quarter.

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