For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Heartland Express (HTLD) 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? 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.
Heartland Express is one of 100 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. Heartland Express is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HTLD's full-year earnings has moved 19.4% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, HTLD has moved about 46.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Transportation stocks have gained an average of 8.7%. As we can see, Heartland Express is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Transportation sector, Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd. (PCFBY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 35.6%.
Over the past three months, Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 50%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Heartland Express belongs to the Transportation - Truck industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #153 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 34.8% this year, meaning that HTLD is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd. belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry. This 22-stock industry is currently ranked #147. The industry has moved +43.3% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Transportation stocks should continue to track Heartland Express and Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Heartland Express, Inc. (HTLD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd. (PCFBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).