The Auto-Tires-Trucks group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Blue Bird (BLBD) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Auto-Tires-Trucks peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Blue Bird is one of 101 companies in the Auto-Tires-Trucks group. The Auto-Tires-Trucks group currently sits at #10 within 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. Blue Bird is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD's full-year earnings has moved 7.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, BLBD has moved about 58.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector has returned an average of 25% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Blue Bird is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Dorman Products (DORM) is another Auto-Tires-Trucks stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 55.7%.

In Dorman Products' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Blue Bird is a member of the Automotive - Domestic industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #129 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 49.9% so far this year, so BLBD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Dorman Products belongs to the Automotive - Replacement Parts industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #36. The industry has moved -17.3% year to date.

Blue Bird and Dorman Products could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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