For those looking to find strong Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Dana (DAN) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector should help us answer this question.

Dana is one of 100 individual stocks in the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Dana is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DAN's full-year earnings has moved 26.9% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, DAN has moved about 33.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Auto-Tires-Trucks companies have returned an average of -15.1%. This means that Dana is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Auto-Tires-Trucks stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Garrett Motion (GTX). The stock has returned 9.1% year-to-date.

For Garrett Motion, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Dana is a member of the Automotive - Original Equipment industry, which includes 50 individual companies and currently sits at #173 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.5% so far this year, so DAN is performing better in this area. Garrett Motion is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks should continue to pay close attention to Dana and Garrett Motion as they could maintain their solid performance.

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

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