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United Airlines (UAL) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) closed at $47.48 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.76% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.88%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.11%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 3.76%.

Coming into today, shares of the airline had gained 10.85% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector lost 5.24%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.38%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from United Airlines as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, United Airlines is projected to report earnings of $3.70 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 158.74%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.94 billion, up 15.09% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.03 per share and revenue of $53.03 billion, which would represent changes of +258.33% and +17.96%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for United Airlines. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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.

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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.01% higher within the past month. United Airlines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note United Airlines's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 5.17. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.7.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, putting it in the top 27% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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