The Transportation group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Costamare (CMRE) 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? 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.

Costamare is one of 135 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Costamare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMRE's full-year earnings has moved 3.8% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CMRE has returned 29.1% so far this year. At the same time, Transportation stocks have gained an average of 0.4%. This means that Costamare is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) is another Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 6.4%.

Over the past three months, Southwest Airlines' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Costamare belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry, a group that includes 43 individual stocks and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 18% this year, meaning that CMRE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Southwest Airlines belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry. This 31-stock industry is currently ranked #17. The industry has moved +29.3% year to date.

Costamare and Southwest Airlines could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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