Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Transportation Stocks Lagging Alaska Air Group (ALK) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Alaska Air Group (ALK - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Alaska Air Group is a member of the Transportation sector. This group includes 132 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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. Alaska Air Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK's full-year earnings has moved 3.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ALK has gained about 6.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of -4.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Alaska Air Group is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Costamare (CMRE - Free Report) is another Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 48.7%.

In Costamare's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 11.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Alaska Air Group belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry, which includes 32 individual stocks and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 14.5% so far this year, meaning that ALK is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Costamare belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry. This 38-stock industry is currently ranked #85. The industry has moved +15.8% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to Alaska Air Group and Costamare as they could maintain their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) - free report >>

Costamare Inc. (CMRE) - free report >>

Published in