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American Airlines (AAL) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $26.86, moving -0.52% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.29%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.11%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.44%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest airline had lost 8.54% over the past month. This has lagged the Transportation sector's loss of 2.87% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.51% in that time.

AAL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.25, up 20.19% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $11.36 billion, up 3.83% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.99 per share and revenue of $45.81 billion, which would represent changes of +9.67% and +2.85%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AAL should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. AAL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note AAL's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 5.41. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.21.

Also, we should mention that AAL has a PEG ratio of 1.77. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Transportation - Airline industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.62 as of yesterday's close.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 66, putting it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.

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

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


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