3 Services Stocks Pushing The Sector Higher

TheStreet highlights 3 stocks pushing the services sector higher today.
By Chris Dow ,

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer.

All three major indices are trading up today with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

(

^DJI

) trading up 48 points (0.3%) at 18,145 as of Thursday, March 5, 2015, 12:05 PM ET. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,642 issues advancing vs. 1,262 declining with 201 unchanged.

The Services sector currently sits up 0.2% versus the S&P 500, which is up 0.2%. Top gainers within the sector include

Golar LNG

(

GLNG

), up 11.8%,

Kroger

(

KR

), up 5.0%,

Delhaize Group

(

DEG

), up 3.9%,

Vipshop Holdings Ltd ADR

(

VIPS

), up 2.2% and

Expedia

(

EXPE

), up 2.4%. On the negative front, top decliners within the sector include

H&R Block

(

HRB

), down 4.3%,

Cencosud

(

CNCO

), down 2.6%,

American Airlines Group

(

AAL

), down 1.9%,

Las Vegas Sands

(

LVS

), down 1.7% and

McDonald's

(

MCD

), down 1.3%.

TheStreet would like to highlight 3 stocks pushing the sector higher today:

3.

Lowe's Companies

(

LOW

) is one of the companies pushing the Services sector higher today. As of noon trading, Lowe's Companies is up $0.78 (1.1%) to $74.80 on light volume. Thus far, 1.3 million shares of Lowe's Companies exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5.2 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $74.38-$74.99 after having opened the day at $74.39 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $74.02.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Lowe's Companies, Inc. operates as a home improvement retailer. It offers products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and home decorating. Lowe's Companies has a market cap of $73.0 billion and is part of the retail industry. Shares are up 7.6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 10 analysts who rate Lowe's Companies a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 9 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Lowe's Companies

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, revenue growth, notable return on equity and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated. Get the full

Lowe's Companies Ratings Report

now.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

2. As of noon trading,

Starbucks

(

SBUX

) is up $0.80 (0.9%) to $93.86 on light volume. Thus far, 1.1 million shares of Starbucks exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5.2 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $93.06-$93.96 after having opened the day at $93.28 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $93.06.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Starbucks Corporation operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; China/Asia Pacific; and Channel Development. Starbucks has a market cap of $70.5 billion and is part of the leisure industry. Shares are up 13.4% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 15 analysts who rate Starbucks a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 4 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Starbucks

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins. Get the full

Starbucks Ratings Report

now.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

1. As of noon trading,

eBay

(

EBAY

) is up $0.72 (1.2%) to $59.03 on light volume. Thus far, 2.7 million shares of eBay exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 9.0 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $58.28-$59.29 after having opened the day at $58.28 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $58.31.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

eBay Inc. operates as a technology company that enables commerce and payments on behalf of users, merchants, retailers, and brands of various sizes in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Marketplaces, Payments, and Enterprise. eBay has a market cap of $70.5 billion and is part of the specialty retail industry. Shares are up 3.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 13 analysts who rate eBay a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 13 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

eBay

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, growth in earnings per share, expanding profit margins, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity. Get the full

eBay Ratings Report

now.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

If you are interested in one of these 3 stocks, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the services sector could consider

iShares Dow Jones US Cons Services

(

IYC

) while those bearish on the services sector could consider

ProShares Ultra Short Consumer Sers

(

SCC

).

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