For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Alaska Air Group (ALK) 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 Transportation sector should help us answer this question.
Alaska Air Group is one of 131 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #16 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 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. Alaska Air Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK's full-year earnings has moved 10.6% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that ALK has returned about 17.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of 5.3% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Alaska Air Group is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (ICAGY). The stock is up 20.4% year-to-date.
For International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Alaska Air Group belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry, which includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #37 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.3% so far this year, so ALK is performing better in this area. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Transportation sector may want to keep a close eye on Alaska Air Group and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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