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Is Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) Outperforming Other Transportation Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Transportation stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK - 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.

Star Bulk Carriers is one of 132 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #16 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the 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 27.1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, SBLK has returned 13.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have gained about 3.9% on average. As we can see, Star Bulk Carriers is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is SkyWest (SKYW - Free Report) . The stock is up 33.1% year-to-date.

For SkyWest, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 26.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Star Bulk Carriers belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry, a group that includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 10.5% so far this year, meaning that SBLK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, SkyWest falls under the Transportation - Airline industry. Currently, this industry has 32 stocks and is ranked #57. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.5%.

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may want to keep a close eye on Star Bulk Carriers and SkyWest as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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