The Transportation group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Southwest Airlines (LUV) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Transportation peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Southwest Airlines is one of 115 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 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. Southwest Airlines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LUV's full-year earnings has moved 32.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, LUV has gained about 4.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of 4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Southwest Airlines is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Knot Offshore (KNOP) is another Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 5.6%.
Over the past three months, Knot Offshore's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 85.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Southwest Airlines belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry, which includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #161 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 17.3% so far this year, so LUV is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
Knot Offshore, however, belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry. Currently, this 36-stock industry is ranked #102. The industry has moved +19.8% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Transportation sector may want to keep a close eye on Southwest Airlines and Knot Offshore as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report KNOT Offshore Partners LP (KNOP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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