Should You Get Rid of Harsco (HSC) Now? - Tale of the Tape

Similar to wise buying decisions, exiting certain underperformers at the right time helps maximize portfolio returns. Selling off losers can be difficult, but if both the share price and estimates are falling, it could be time to get rid of the security before more losses hit your portfolio.

One such stock that you may want to consider dropping is Harsco Corporation HSC, which has witnessed a significant price decline in the past four weeks, and it has seen negative earnings estimate revisions for the current quarter and the current year. A Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) further confirms weakness in HSC.

A key reason for this move has been the negative trend in earnings estimate revisions. For the full year, we have seen 3 estimates moving down in the past 30 days, with no upward revision. This trend has caused the consensus estimate to trend lower, going from $1.33 a share a month ago to its current level of $1.13.

Also, for the current quarter, Harsco has seen 1 downward estimate revision versus one revision in the opposite direction, dragging the consensus estimate down to 13 cents a share from 24 cents over the past 30 days.

The stock also has seen some pretty dismal trading lately, as the share price has dropped 12.7% in the past month.

So it may not be a good decision to keep this stock in your portfolio anymore, at least if you don't have a long time horizon to wait.

If you are still interested in the Industrial product sector, you may instead consider some better-ranked stocks including Ball Corporation BLL, ScanSource, Inc. SCSC and Rockwell Automation Inc. ROK. While Ball carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), ScanSource and Rockwell Automation carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and may be better selections at this time.

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BALL CORP BLL: Free Stock Analysis Report

HARSCO CORP HSC: Free Stock Analysis Report

ROCKWELL AUTOMT ROK: Free Stock Analysis Report

SCANSOURCE INC SCSC: Free Stock Analysis Report

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