Back to top

Image: Bigstock

American Airlines (AAL) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) closed at $38.94 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.7% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.3%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 2.5%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.95%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest airline had gained 10.47% over the past month. This has outpaced the Transportation sector's gain of 4.59% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.21% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from AAL as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 24, 2019. On that day, AAL is projected to report earnings of $1.01 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.32%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $11.07 billion, up 4.46% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.51 per share and revenue of $44.67 billion. These totals would mark changes of -7.58% and +5.84%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for AAL. 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.4% lower within the past month. AAL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, AAL is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.49. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.03, so we one might conclude that AAL is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that AAL currently has a PEG ratio of 1.12. 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 0.69 as of yesterday's close.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) - free report >>

Published in