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Is Alaska Air Group (ALK) Outperforming Other Transportation Stocks This Year?

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

Alaska Air Group is a member of the Transportation sector. This group includes 136 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. 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 16.3% 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 20.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of 7.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Alaska Air Group is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Transportation stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) . The stock has returned 21.4% year-to-date.

In Delta Air Lines' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 5.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Alaska Air Group belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #31 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 17.5% this year, meaning that ALK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Delta Air Lines is also part of the same industry.

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


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