Penn National Gaming (PENN) closed the most recent trading day at $44.86, moving -0.11% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.17% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.18%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the casino operator had lost 8.92% over the past month. This has lagged the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 5.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.88% in that time.

Penn National Gaming will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Penn National Gaming is projected to report earnings of $0.41 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 25.45%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.51 billion, up 18.28% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.86 per share and revenue of $6.23 billion, which would represent changes of -25% and +5.58%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Penn National Gaming should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower. Penn National Gaming is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Penn National Gaming's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 24.09. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.59.

The Gaming industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 182, which puts it in the bottom 29% 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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