For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Heartland Express (HTLD) 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.
Heartland Express is one of 110 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HTLD's full-year earnings has moved 428.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, HTLD has gained about 30.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have gained about 14.1% on average. This shows that Heartland Express is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Transportation sector, JB Hunt (JBHT), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 37%.
In JB Hunt's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Heartland Express belongs to the Transportation - Truck industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #19 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 34.2% this year, meaning that HTLD is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. JB Hunt is also part of the same industry.
Heartland Express and JB Hunt could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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