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Verso Corporation (VRS) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Verso Corporation closed at $22.40 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.22% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.85% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.15%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.77%.

Coming into today, shares of the company had lost 14.62% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector lost 4.98%, while the S&P 500 lost 9.35%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from VRS as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be March 14, 2019. In that report, analysts expect VRS to post earnings of $1.73 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 66.35%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $712.83 million, up 11.55% from the year-ago period.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for VRS. 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. VRS is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.

In terms of valuation, VRS is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 6.27. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.32.

The Paper and Related Products industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 227, putting it in the bottom 12% 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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