Correlation Between United Airlines and Norfolk Southern

Can any of the company-specific risk be diversified away by investing in both United Airlines and Norfolk Southern at the same time? Although using a correlation coefficient on its own may not help to predict future stock returns, this module helps to understand the diversifiable risk of combining United Airlines and Norfolk Southern into the same portfolio, which is an essential part of the fundamental portfolio management process.

By analyzing existing cross correlation between United Airlines Holdings and Norfolk Southern, you can compare the effects of market volatilities on United Airlines and Norfolk Southern and check how they will diversify away market risk if combined in the same portfolio for a given time horizon. You can also utilize pair trading strategies of matching a long position in United Airlines with a short position of Norfolk Southern. Check out your portfolio center. Please also check ongoing floating volatility patterns of United Airlines and Norfolk Southern.

Diversification Opportunities for United Airlines and Norfolk Southern

0.85

Correlation Coefficient

United Airlines  Norfolk Southern

Very poor diversification

The 3 months correlation between United and Norfolk is 0.85. Overlapping area represents the amount of risk that can be diversified away by holding United Airlines Holdings and Norfolk Southern in the same portfolio, assuming nothing else is changed. The correlation between historical prices or returns on Norfolk Southern and United Airlines is a relative statistical measure of the degree to which these equity instruments tend to move together. The correlation coefficient measures the extent to which returns on United Airlines Holdings are associated (or correlated) with Norfolk Southern. Values of the correlation coefficient range from -1 to +1, where. The correlation of zero (0) is possible when the price movement of Norfolk Southern has no effect on the direction of United Airlines i.e., United Airlines and Norfolk Southern go up and down completely randomly.

Pair Corralation between United Airlines and Norfolk Southern

Considering the 90-day investment horizon United Airlines Holdings is expected to under-perform the Norfolk Southern. In addition to that, United Airlines is 2.59 times more volatile than Norfolk Southern. It trades about -0.11 of its total potential returns per unit of risk. Norfolk Southern is currently generating about -0.05 per unit of volatility. If you would invest  23,609  in Norfolk Southern on January 13, 2025 and sell it today you would lose (1,778) from holding Norfolk Southern or give up 7.53% of portfolio value over 90 days.

Time Period	3 Months [change]
Direction	Moves Together
Strength	Strong
Accuracy	100.0%
Values	Daily Returns

United Airlines Holdings  vs.  Norfolk Southern

United Airlines Holdings

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Very Weak

Over the last 90 days United Airlines Holdings has generated negative risk-adjusted returns adding no value to investors with long positions. Despite conflicting performance in the last few months, the Stock's basic indicators remain quite persistent which may send shares a bit higher in May 2025. The latest mess may also be a sign of long-standing up-swing for the company institutional investors.

Norfolk Southern

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Very Weak

Over the last 90 days Norfolk Southern has generated negative risk-adjusted returns adding no value to investors with long positions. In spite of latest weak performance, the Stock's basic indicators remain sound and the latest tumult on Wall Street may also be a sign of longer-term gains for the firm shareholders.

Pair Trading with United Airlines and Norfolk Southern

The main advantage of trading using opposite United Airlines and Norfolk Southern positions is that it hedges away some unsystematic risk. Because of two separate transactions, even if United Airlines position performs unexpectedly, Norfolk Southern can make up some of the losses. Pair trading also minimizes risk from directional movements in the market. For example, if an entire industry or sector drops because of unexpected headlines, the short position in Norfolk Southern will offset losses from the drop in Norfolk Southern's long position.

The idea behind United Airlines Holdings and Norfolk Southern pairs trading is to make the combined position market-neutral, meaning the overall market's direction will not affect its win or loss (or potential downside or upside). This can be achieved by designing a pairs trade with two highly correlated stocks or equities that operate in a similar space or sector, making it possible to obtain profits through simple and relatively low-risk investment.

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Note that this page's information should be used as a complementary analysis to find the right mix of equity instruments to add to your existing portfolios or create a brand new portfolio. You can also try the Price Transformation module to use Price Transformation models to analyze the depth of different equity instruments across global markets.