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Freightcar America (RAIL) Moves 18.6% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

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Freightcar America (RAIL) shares rallied 18.6% in the last trading session to close at $11.66. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 20.2% gain over the past four weeks.

The company has performed very well this year, with shares gaining 31% year to date. Strong demand for railcars and the company's efforts to reduce costs are boosting growth. RAIL has relocated production to a lower-cost region. The move is aimed at improving its cost structure. These tailwinds should keep the company in good shape going forward.

This rail car maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +20%. Revenues are expected to be $109.09 million, down 26% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Freightcar America, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.8% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on RAIL going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

 

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Freightcar America belongs to the Zacks Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry. Another stock from the same industry, Air Lease (AL), closed the last trading session 0.8% lower at $58.02. Over the past month, AL has returned 1.8%.

For Air Lease, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $1.33. This represents a change of +8.1% from what the company reported a year ago. Air Lease currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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