The Transportation group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Ardmore Shipping (ASC) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Transportation sector should help us answer this question.
Ardmore Shipping is one of 121 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Ardmore Shipping is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASC's full-year earnings has moved 2.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, ASC has returned 7.3% so far this year. In comparison, Transportation companies have returned an average of -5.8%. This means that Ardmore Shipping is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Transportation sector, Central Japan Railway Co. (CJPRY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 51.2%.
Over the past three months, Central Japan Railway Co.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Ardmore Shipping is a member of the Transportation - Shipping industry, which includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #167 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 9.3% so far this year, meaning that ASC is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Central Japan Railway Co. falls under the Transportation - Rail industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #49. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.3%.
Ardmore Shipping and Central Japan Railway Co. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Ardmore Shipping Corporation (ASC): Free Stock Analysis Report Central Japan Railway Co. (CJPRY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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