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Why the Market Dipped But United Airlines (UAL) Gained Today

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United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) closed the latest trading day at $54.11, indicating a +0.9% change from the previous session's end. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.19%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.04%.

Coming into today, shares of the airline had gained 27.27% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector gained 3.48%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.95%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of United Airlines in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $3.06, showcasing a 16.16% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $14.93 billion, reflecting a 3.11% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

UAL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $9.78 per share and revenue of $56.71 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -2.69% and +5.57%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for United Airlines. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.56% higher within the past month. United Airlines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, United Airlines is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.48. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.27, which means United Airlines is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that UAL has a PEG ratio of 1.12. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. UAL's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.87 as of yesterday's close.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 91, positioning it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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