Are Transportation Stocks Lagging Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) This Year?

For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) 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.

Star Bulk Carriers is one of 110 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #4 within 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 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. Star Bulk Carriers is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBLK's full-year earnings has moved 14% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, SBLK has gained about 62.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of 8.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Star Bulk Carriers is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Transportation stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Teekay Tankers (TNK). The stock has returned 88.8% year-to-date.

For Teekay Tankers, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Star Bulk Carriers belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry, a group that includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #46 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 63.4% so far this year, meaning that SBLK is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Teekay Tankers is also part of the same industry.

Star Bulk Carriers and Teekay Tankers could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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

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