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Penn National Gaming (PENN) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Penn National Gaming (PENN - Free Report) closed at $51.85 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.07% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.26%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.16%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.04%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the casino operator had gained 2.07% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 1.56% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.82% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Penn National Gaming as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Penn National Gaming is projected to report earnings of $0.50 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 614.29%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.49 billion, up 44.91% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.67 per share and revenue of $5.83 billion, which would represent changes of +153.4% and +62.83%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Penn National Gaming. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Penn National Gaming is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Penn National Gaming has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.2 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.41, which means Penn National Gaming is trading at a premium to the group.

The Gaming industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 197, which puts it in the bottom 23% 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 PENN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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