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Is Marten Transport (MRTN) Outperforming Other Transportation Stocks This Year?

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The Transportation group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Marten Transport, Ltd. (MRTN - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Marten Transport, Ltd. is a member of the Transportation sector. This group includes 143 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 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. Marten Transport, Ltd. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRTN's full-year earnings has moved 13.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that MRTN has returned about 14.6% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Transportation companies have returned an average of -13.8%. This means that Marten Transport, Ltd. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Transportation stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is USA Truck . The stock has returned 56.7% year-to-date.

In USA Truck's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 38.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Marten Transport, Ltd. belongs to the Transportation - Truck industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 18.9% so far this year, so MRTN is performing better in this area. USA Truck is also part of the same industry.

Marten Transport, Ltd. and USA Truck could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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