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General Motors (GM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, General Motors (GM - Free Report) closed at $36.08, marking a +0.98% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.78% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.95%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.98%.

Heading into today, shares of the automaker had lost 1.11% over the past month, lagging the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's gain of 1.76% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.17% in that time.

GM will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 23, 2018. On that day, GM is projected to report earnings of $1.28 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 3.03%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $35.48 billion, up 5.52% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.95 per share and revenue of $145.57 billion. These totals would mark changes of -10.12% and -2.64%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for GM. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. GM currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Investors should also note GM's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.88.

Meanwhile, GM's PEG ratio is currently 0.73. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Automotive - Domestic industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.34 as of yesterday's close.

The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 111, which puts it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow GM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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