Are Transportation Stocks Lagging Aercap (AER) This Year?

Investors interested in Transportation stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. AerCap (AER) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

AerCap is one of 122 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #16 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AerCap is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AER's full-year earnings has moved 13.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, AER has returned 36.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of -5.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AerCap is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Seacor Marine (SMHI). The stock is up 8.2% year-to-date.

In Seacor Marine's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 38% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, AerCap belongs to the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry, a group that includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #194 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.9% so far this year, so AER is performing better in this area.

Seacor Marine, however, belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #69. The industry has moved +13.4% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may want to keep a close eye on AerCap and Seacor Marine as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research